Providing health education to skilled artisans in Ethiopia
Every day, 830 women die every day from preventable causes during childbirth and pregnancy. Most of these deaths can be prevented when a woman attends antenatal care visits while pregnant and delivers her baby with the help of a trained health worker.
Women who live in rural communities in developing countries are more likely to follow traditional birthing practices, such as delivering at home with the help of a traditional “healer” instead of a trained health worker. That’s why it’s important for women in these communities to receive health education which encourages them to use health services offered by a trained health worker.
Through a partnership with the lemlem Foundation we provided local artisans in Ethiopia with much-needed health education that covered maternal and reproductive health. The lemlem Foundation is the philanthropic arm of lemlem, an ethical fashion company founded by supermodel Liya Kebede that employs traditional artisans in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Rwanda to create apparel and accessories.
Amref Health Africa-trained community health workers visited artisans employed by lemlem at one of their factories in Ethiopia and led a training session on a wide range of health topics over several days. At the end of the session, a graduation ceremony was held for the artisans who participated. Topics that the artisans learned about included: family planning, hygiene, breastfeeding and the importance of prenatal care and delivering at a health facility.
