EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES TO TACKLE MATERNAL & INFANT MORTALITY
Global Midwife Education Foundation’s (GMEF) mission is to reduce maternal and infant mortality and morbidity in rural areas of the developing world. In these isolated and hardworking communities, poverty, contaminated water sources, and lack of medical care contribute to illness, malnutrition and even death for far too many children and their family members.
GMEF is a 501(c)3 that is financially supported by individuals and foundations who share our vision that all people deserve access to basic healthcare and education. Our practices are participatory, focused on the specific needs of every community.
GMEF educates birth attendants through sustainable, community-based, and long-term education programs. We train midwives to provide childbirth assistance and newborn care for families within their villages and surrounding areas and provide these birth attendants with necessary medical supplies. And we offer access to birth control for those who desire it. GMEF’s training programs are founded on the evidence-based medical recommendations of the World Health Organization.
ADDRESSING BASIC NEEDS – PROVIDING ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER & SANITATION
For some communities, a lack of basic health care for mothers and children is only part of the problem. In many villages in the developing world, there is no access to clean water and no sanitation. Contaminated water sources cause frequent illness and contribute to high infant mortality. Malnutrition which results from dirty water perpetuates the cycle of poverty by stunting brain development and causing children to miss school.
GMEF is helping communities meet this fundamental health need through water and bathroom projects so that moms and babies who survive childbirth do not succumb to disease. Moreover, while we provide the materials and guidance, the communities themselves are largely responsible for the construction and maintenance of the water and sanitation systems, making these projects truly sustainable.
PARTNERING WITH THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH
We coordinate all of our training with assistance from the Ministry of Health and the community members. GMEF also helps train and supply Ministry of Health doctors and nurses to provide more advanced maternity care and newborn resuscitation.
This partnership with the Ministry of Health ensures that all of GMEF’s programs receive ongoing support in the form of labor, transportation of people and materials, and dissemination of information to these rural areas.
