Umodzi

The video examines the power of community mobilization through women's groups to improve mother and child health and reduce mortality in Mchinji District, rural Malawi. Women, chiefs and health workers discuss transformations in their communities brought about by community members collaborating in over 250 women's groups established by MaiMwana Project in 2005. Agness and other women describe how collective action has helped them to identify and solve problems such as the shortage of money for healthy food during pregnancy and the lack of transportation to health centers for pregnant women experiencing hemorrhaging. Women's groups in Mchinji demonstrate that women, men, and village health workers can build on existing capacities to eliminate obstacles to and take control of mother and child health. Charity Manda, a Malawian woman featured in the video, said that through the women's group in her village Charity and other community members "are able to identify and prevent health problems on our own." MaiMwana, www.maimwana.malawi.net, is a collaboration between the Malawi Ministry of Health and UCL Centre for International Health and Development established in Malawi in 2003. UCL Futures funded the project.