Situka Alliance Initiative Uganda

Male engagement: A winning strategy in the fight against maternal and child mortality

At 336 deaths per 100,000 live births, Uganda’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is among the highest on the African continent and in the world. Although Development partners have applauded Uganda’s effort and interventions to bring down the under-five mortality rate from 109 to 53 deaths per 1000 live births between 2006 to 2016, Uganda’s MMR continues to rank high in the world with 440 deaths per 100,000 live births according to UNICEF’s latest Data. In Uganda one woman out of every 49 will die of maternal complications related to Pregnancy or Delivery.

According the World Health Organization (WHO) Maternal death is described as a death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, regardless of the site or duration of pregnancy from any cause related to, or aggravated by pregnancy or its management.

Men are considered primary decision makers in saving lives for all mothers in labor, during delivery and at postnatal stage including; the new-born, actually not only the new-born but also those under 5 years. This is normally based on the society moral, cultural and traditional values and beliefs in which men are considered as fundamentals that upholds families in Africa. The underlying factor behind this notion is that MEN control most of the resources in a family. They either remain as pillars in providing all the basic social and financial support required for the duo to survive or remain unbothered to let them perish. Even at critical/emergency times for example, during hospitalisation MEN remain instrumental in deciding the next course of action as guided by health care professionals. However, in most communities this is not the case, the decision to save a life of a mother and the new-born remains in the hands of the health worker as a caregiver!

The plans for delivering a healthy baby should ideally be discussed as a couple during antenatal visits, even though in most cases, this is not so. SITUKA Uganda proposes male engagement as a key winning strategy towards combating MMR causes including preterm birth complications currently estimated at 18%, Pneumonia contributing about 15%, Intrapartum related events at 13%, congenital abnormalities ~ 9%, Diarrhoea 8%, Neonatal sepsis 7% and malaria contributing about 5%

At Situka Uganda, we believe engaged MEN can be empowered to ensure protection of all mothers and their loved ones, and indeed those around them. A male involved society is a dignified society where we can celebrate the health of a woman and the children.  In fact Protecting women, teenagers and children starts with MEN!

Furthermore, Male engagement can complement and amplify already available interventions aimed at reducing MMR. These include regular antenatal care attendance, adequate preparedness for mother’s delivery in terms of birth requirements, and transportation to health facilities which can drastically reduce the number of women who die of maternal complications related to Pregnancy or Delivery.

At Situka Uganda, we invite volunteers to support our work and be part of the change agents in the local communities. Together we can support women and new-born to have safe deliveries and a dignified life before, during and after birth!!

CEO SITUKA liaising with a group of men how they can engage in health seeking behaviour, uplift their economic status and support their families.

Found a couple that had just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, this gentleman shared a story of hope how he had to organise transport at midnight amidst heavy rains to ensure that he transports his wife to the health facility to deliver.

A couple waiting for a health worker to discuss child spacing just 6 weeks after delivering a health baby.

This gentleman was organising the bed at postnatal ward for his wife Immediately after delivery of their baby. 

In this picture he is arranging clothes for the new-born. Such acts gives hope to mothers, they feel the spouse is involved in her well being and that of the baby. It  helps them to psychologically recover from the traumatic experiences of pregnancy and child birth.