Women and Children First UK

I had a brilliant day today, visiting our project in Ntcheu, meeting all the project team and then going out to speak to people directly benefitting from the project.  We were welcomed with great gusto - even though we were about four hours late due to delays in getting fuel which is short in Malawi - and then heard from everyone including volunteers who are measuring under five's growth to make sure they are growing properly and getting proper nutrition.  We were entertained by a drummer group, a women's group member who read a poem and a drama group, all of whose performances included maternal, newborn and child health messages.

Best of all was that women from four different communities all reported dramatic reductions in maternal, newborn and child deaths since the project came to their villages.

Here are the women singing their messages to promote maternal, newborn and child health.

Ambreen our poliical liaison volunteer tells us about her experience working with Women and Children First.

I've been volunteering at Woman and Children First since September. I work as a political liaison volunteer which involves contacting Members of Parliament to raise awareness of the charity and the issues it deals with. The hope is that increased awareness amongst parliamentarians about the need to improve maternal health will have a positive impact on the UK’s international development policy – and will ultimately help improve child and maternal health in less-developed countries.

I studied International Politics and Economics, so volunteering here is really helping to build on the theory from my course. I'm building on my knowledge about the processes of parliament all the time - for example, how to engage MPs according to their interests and the differences between engaging with the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Although of course MPs are really busy, I've been pleasantly surprised about how down-to-earth they are and how willing they are to talk about areas of interest. I also arranged a meeting with my constituency MP, who was very helpful and offered some really useful tips about the best ways to approach public office holders.

Women and Children First is a great place to work. Everyone has been really friendly and welcoming and I learn something new from everyone. Career-wise, I hope to work in a public policy or socio-economic related role so the experience I'm gaining here is very useful in building towards that goal. I'm joining up more of the dots all the time. And of course WCF is a great charity and cause I believe in, so I hope something positive can come out of my contribution.

"I am so sorry not to be able to join you this evening, as I had intended.
Illness in the family has made it impossible, but I wanted to send word to say a very big thank you to all of you for coming here tonight - To get here on a wet autumn evening and with so many other calls on your time, is in itself evidence of a commitment, which this charity is very grateful to receive.

I have been a Patron of Women and Children First for a year, and am really impressed with the work that it does, and the manner in which that work is carried out. The charity's title "Women and Children First" derives, I think, from the saying that we now equate with the sinking of the Titanic, when the lives of women and children were apparently prioritised over those of men, when it came to grabbing a space in a lifeboat, - perhaps mythologizing the notion of male courage and self- sacrifice. But as we know, very often it is women whose lives and health are sacrificed to the needs of their families and communities, and the health and safety of women is seldom prioritised.

This charity seeks to address that. They spread their net wide - over many parts of South Asia and sub- Saharan Africa - but their focus is relatively small and localised, and therein lies their success. In creating programmes which seek to spread knowledge and awareness to women in the communities they serve, and in creating practical and sustainable solutions, however small in form, to help women to get through childbirth and its aftermath safely, they are saving thousands of lives, both of women and of their newborn babies. We need you to help all you can to support the charity in its aims and projects - above all to equip women with the tools they need to ensure the healthy survival of themselves and their children - the first and foremost tool being that of knowledge.

Thank you again for coming tonight - and please do sustain your engagement with the charity wherever and however possible. "

Recently our patron, Kathy Lette, joined well-wishers at a reception at the House of Lords hosted by another of our patron's, Baroness Massey of Darwen, a life-long campaigner for women’s health and Lord Parekh, who was born in India, one of the countries where we work. Kathy praised our approach to helping women to help one another deal with the challenges of childbirth. Kathy and the hosts are pictured here with Ros Davies, our Chief Executive, who said:

“It is an unforgivable tragedy that 1,000 women worldwide die in childbirth every day, even though most of these deaths are preventable. Our unique approach, supporting local organisations to work with communities, empowering women to take action and improve their health, and that of their children, has reached over half a million women and demonstrated that it significantly improves maternal health. As a result newborn mortality has fallen by up to 45% in our project catchment areas, currently saving more than four and a half thousand lives a year.”

Speaking about the work which the charity has done over the past ten years, founder trustee Professor Anthony Costello, Director of the Institute for Global Health, said:

“Ten years on, we are proud that our work, which is based on local partnerships, communities implementing their own solutions, and an emphasis on measuring the results, is saving lives and influencing policymakers There is so much more we can do if we empower women in this way.”