In Uganda’s pastoralist communities, women face extraordinary challenges during pregnancy and childbirth. In remote communities of Ntoroko District, long distances to health facilities, poor roads, and the high cost of transport have left many mothers giving birth at home without skilled support. These preventable conditions have tragically cost many lives of both mothers and newborns.
To change this, RIWE_AFRICA is implementing the Saving Lives at Birth among Pastoralist Mothers project in Ntoroko. The project aims to reduce maternal and newborn deaths by strengthening community-led emergency care systems and improving access to skilled health services.
Community-Led Approach to Maternal Health
This is a community-led approach, where we work hand in hand with Village Health Teams (VHTs), midwives, and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) to ensure that every woman receives the care she needs before, during, and after childbirth.
Through simulation-based training using globally recognized modules such as Helping Mothers Survive (HMS) and Helping Babies Breathe (HBB), local health providers have gained lifesaving skills to manage complications like excessive bleeding, prolonged labor, and newborn asphyxia.
Innovation contributing to Saving Lives at Birth: “The FACE Tracker“
Working with these community volunteers, RIWE_AFRICA developed the Facility Community Encounter (FACE) Tracker, a digital referral and feedback system that connects community health workers (CHWs) or Village health teams (VHTs) directly with midwives at health centers.
Using smartphones, community health volunteers document real-time referrals, and midwives at the health facilities receive an alert health facilities in real time when emergencies arise, hence reducing delays that often cost lives. To date, the FACE Tracker has helped cut referral response time by over 30%, improving coordination between community and facility-based care.
Recognizing that distance remains a major barrier, the project supports vulnerable mothers through emergency transport vouchers, enabling women to reach care quickly and safely. This ensures that no woman is left behind simply because she cannot afford to travel to a health facility.
Reaching Mothers, Empowering Communities
Through women’s health groups, local radio dialogues, and male engagement sessions, RIWE_AFRICA has reached over 3,000 mothers and youth with vital health education messages. These platforms are helping shift mindsets, encourage antenatal care attendance, and build community ownership around maternal and newborn health.
We have so far trained 30 frontline community health workers, including Traditional birth attendants, to improve emergency response systems across multiple sub-counties and facilitated access to safe delivery services for hundreds of mothers in Ntoroko.
For RIWE_AFRICA, saving lives at birth is not only a health goal, it is a justice mission. Every mother deserves the right to safe childbirth, regardless of where she lives. By combining community knowledge, digital innovation, and inclusive health education, we are proving that equitable healthcare is possible even in the most remote pastoralist settings.