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WATCH: Mother-to-mother support groups show the power of peer support
Mother-to-mother support groups are part of a comprehensive behaviour change intervention strategy that Nutrition International supported Vihiga County’s Ministry of Health to develop, disseminate and implement. See one group in action in Vihiga, Kenya.
Posted on July 11, 2024
Video
Peer support group promotes maternal and newborn health in Kenya
Meet Sherry Wamunyenga, mom of two and leader of her mother-to-mother support group.
In Kenya, mother-to-mother groups are designed to equip mothers and pregnant women with knowledge and skills to support healthy pregnancies, safe childbirth and optimal postnatal care. The groups are part of comprehension behaviour change intervention strategy and led by women in the locality who receive training from the county Ministry of Health in collaboration with Nutrition Internation.
As group leader, Sherry is responsible for recruiting new members to the group, facilitating meetings and sharing key messages to foster awareness and enhance care-seeking behaviours among members.
In 2019, Nutrition International provided technical and financial support to the County Government of Vihiga to develop its County Nutrition Action Plan. It is a five-year strategic roadmap to tackle county-specific nutrition issues. The plan identifies priority multi-sectoral nutrition intervention actions for each sector, defines targets for each intervention, provides a monitoring and accountability framework, and costing of interventions for budgeting.
Nutrition International supported 11 counties to finance County Nutrition Action Plans through domestic resource mobilization (DRM) to enable county ownership and sustainability. The success of mother-to-mother support groups is one example of this work.
Watch to learn more about how Sherry approaches her role and the efforts in place at the county level to meaningfully support maternal and newborn health and nutrition.
Learn more about Nutrition International’s work in Kenya.
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