Saving moms & babies in Mangochi district through community-based antenatal care.

Maternal and neonatal mortality remain stubbornly high in Malawi, with progress stalled as long distances to healthcare facilities keep many pregnant women from accessing the skilled antenatal care that can prevent fatal complications. This barrier of distance to healthcare is particularly acute in the large, rural district of Mangochi. 

GAIA mobile clinics are working to change this, bringing quality antenatal and postnatal care to 15 hard-to-reach community sites each week – sites that are on average 13 kms from the nearest health facility (one site is 27 kms from the nearest health facility). Two clinics were launched in Mangochi, our newest district, in 2022 and a third was added this year, along with a strengthened suite of antenatal and postnatal services, including a portable ultrasound that is providing critical diagnostic help to clinicians and reassurance to clients. 

During antenatal visits, GAIA’s skilled staff provide essential antenatal services: monitor clients’ weight, hemoglobin and urine levels; provide malaria prophylaxis; test for syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis-B; screen for tuberculosis and gestational diabetes; check the fetal heartbeat; and provide tetanus vaccine. 

These services are filling a clear need: in 2024, GAIA’s Mangochi clinics have provided almost 2400 antenatal visits to date (more than double the number provided the previous year) and more than 86,000 total clinic visits. One month after launch in May of this year, the newest Mangochi clinic had as many clients as the other two clinics – clear evidence of the demand for community-based health services in these rural communities.

Esther, a 26 year old mother of two, living in Sosola village, 15 kilometers away from the only health center providing antenatal care in the remote area illustrates the importance of community-based care. During her previous pregnancies, Esther did not have her first antenatal visit until the 6th and 7th months of pregnancy due to prohibitive cost of transportation to the nearest health facility. During this third pregnancy, she started antenatal care in her first trimester at the GAIA mobile clinic which opened near her home.

Esther expressed her relief and gratitude for the clinics, noting “Now I don’t need to travel long distances to the health facility and I go back home in time to carry out other household chores.” And with antenatal care integrated within primary care at GAIA mobile clinics, she can take care of her two other children’s health needs in the same visit.

¹ At 186 deaths per 100,000 live births, maternal mortality in Malawi is significantly higher than the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of 70; and neonatal mortality has stalled at 22 per 1,000 live births (versus SDG goal of 12).

² Also known as prenatal care.