SWAZILAND: Bringing Men on Board to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality
…custom prohibits a Swazi man from physical contact with his newborn baby and its mother for a minimum of six months.A major grant from the Japan Social Development Fund (JDSF) is now trying to change this. In July, the Japanese government awarded Swaziland $2.57 million over three years to improve maternal and child healthcare programmes in the country. The programme, which is expected to start later this year, will be chiefly rolled out in the poverty-stricken Lubombo region in the eastern part of the country.
A key part of the grant will be spent on community mobilisation initiatives aimed at getting men involved in caring for the health of their wives and children.
Research has shown that lack of male involvement in maternal and child healthcare slows down the mother’s healing process after giving birth and hinders the development of the baby.
via ipsnews.net
This is a great and innovative program. As a man, blogging on these issues, I’m happy to see projects and content that recognize that Maternal and Child Health are not simply a women’s issue. Men, particularly fathers, are vital to reversing horrific maternal and child mortality statistics. I recently witnessed this as my sister was hospitalized following complications with the birth of her son. Her partner was vital to her being able to focus on recovery while he looked after the newborn. I can’t imagine how much harder this would have been if he had been restricted from contact for six months!
Of course, this does raise some cultural questions that I’m not prepared to answer in this blog. It is important to recognize the constant tension between projects shifting cultural norms for the betterment of a society and the need to respect a people and their practices. I’m NOT saying this project is crossing that line, I’m simply saying we all will have more success by admitting the tension instead of ignoring it.
