Announcing Our First Grant in Tanzania

As our team heads to Tanzania next week, Every Mother Counts announces our first grant in Karatu, Tanzania. 

We’ll be funding a one-year grant of $149,450 to the Foundation for African Medicine and Education (“FAME”) to address two critical barriers to pregnant women — lack of education and supplies. 
 
Nearly 8,000 women and girls die in Tanzania each year from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications — 3% of all global maternal deaths. Most deliver at home without a skilled attendant or access to emergency care. Women living in isolated tribal communities are the most vulnerable.

This grant will:

• Train new FAME health workers and support them to provide maternal and reproductive healthcare.
• Provide prenatal, antenatal and postpartum care for women in the District of Karatu.
• Provide vitamin and iron supplements, routine lab tests, and medicines for pregnant women.
• Provide equipment and supplies for normal labor and delivery and emergency care.
• Provide incentives for mothers to access care including new mother bags and educational materials.

Our goal is to impact 11,000 lives. This includes 2,000 mothers and babies who will receive direct care, 9,000 patients, family members and youth who will receive educational programming, and 32 staff members who will be supported by our grant.

Why Tanzania?

While filming in Tanzania for the film NO WOMAN, NO CRY, we documented some of the barriers that millions of girls and women living in Sub-Saharan Africa face when trying to access critical maternal healthcare. That was five years ago and since then we’ve been looking for the right opportunity to make a substantial, sustainable difference for Tanzanian mothers. 

Did you know that…

• Approximately 454 mothers die in Tanzania for every 100,000 live births, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world to become a mother.
• About 44 infants die for every 1,000 live births.
• There’s only one doctor for every 100,000 citizens.
• There are very few well-equipped healthcare facilities and many are inaccessible for rural women.
• Almost half of Tanzanian mothers deliver at home.
• Only 46 percent of mothers are assisted by a trained attendant, midwife or doctor.

About FAME:

FAME is dedicated to improving the quality and accessibility of medical care in rural Tanzania and making a difference in the day-to-day lives of the Tanzanian people. They strive to provide adequate tools, resources and professional support to enable Tanzanian healthcare workers to best serve their community.

EMC chose to fund this grant to FAME because of their commitment to ensure that pregnant women receive competent and compassionate maternal health services throughout their pregnancy, labor and delivery experience.

FAME’s goal for the coming year is to have 60 percent of women delivering their babies at FAME Medical after having attended at least 3 prenatal visits. 20 percent of fathers-to-be or gatekeeper equivalents will have participated in 1–2 prenatal visits and 100 percent of women delivering their babies at FAME Medical will have a patient-centered birthing experience.

This grant will address two of the common barriers pregnant women face when accessing healthcare: Lack of supplies and education. It’s our hope that our grant will expand FAME’s capacity to meet the needs of more mothers in addition to supporting ongoing educational opportunities for hospital staff and healthcare providers.

Keep your eyes on our blog for more information about Tanzania, our upcoming participation in the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon and the work we’ll be doing with FAME. Join us as we welcome FAME into the Every Mother Counts family and thank you for your support, which made it possible for us to fund this grant. 

How can you be a part of making a difference? 

On March 1st, a team of 26 supporters will join Every Mother Counts in Tanzania to run the Kilimanjaro Marathon. We run so that mothers don’t have to run while trying to reach critical care — which is their human right. 

Support our team here and 100% of proceeds raised will go directly to our programs that address three critical barriers for pregnant women — lack of transportation, education, and supplies.

Together, we can make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother.