{"id":431,"date":"2019-04-17T07:10:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T11:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amrefcanada.org\/?p=431"},"modified":"2021-04-06T12:40:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T16:40:27","slug":"the-role-of-the-community-and-men-in-ensuring-safe-deliveries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amrefcanada.org\/blog\/the-role-of-the-community-and-men-in-ensuring-safe-deliveries\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of the Community and Men in Ensuring Safe Deliveries"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jasmine Vallve<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Simiyu region of Tanzania, the rates of maternal and newborn mortality are high, at 556 per 100,000 births and 29\/1,000 births respectively. As a result, the Tanzanian government has identified Simiyu as a priority region for action to reduce these rates. (In Canada, the rates are 7.4\/100,000 and 3.5\/1,000 births, and an estimated 2.2 higher rate in Indigenous communities.)<\/p>\n

During my last visit to Simiyu to see our Uzazi Uzima project, I learned about the role of the community and men in ensuring women have safe deliveries. Uzazi Uzima means safe deliveries in Swahili, the language commonly spoken in Tanzania. I drove 80 kilometres from the town of Bariadi to Halawa Dispensary (which is in Busega District) to hear first-hand how the community is participating in improving childbirth. Busega is full of rolling hills and large boulders which make for a beautiful but bumpy drive.\u00a0Check out this short video I took of the journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>