Project News

In Sudan, a husband tends not to allow his wife to go outside of the house or meet a person other than their family. This tendency leads to the delay in finding of danger sign or having the medical treatment, and thus it is considered as one of the factors making the maternal mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate higher. The pregnant mothers cannot go to hospital without the allowance from her husband even when she is bleeding. Especially in the community far away from the hospital, although village midwives (VMWS) have an important role in delivery, people conduct the delivery inside home without taking any antenatal care or midwifery and lose the lives of both mother and baby. This kind of thing happened because people in the community do not know well about VMWs' reproductive health service.

In order to make more pregnant mothers to take a service from VMWs, additionally to the technical support for the in-service training of VMWs, Capacity Development Project for Provision of the Services for Basic Human Needs in Kassala (K-TOP) Health cluster conducts activities for raising awareness of reproductive health. As one of such awareness activities, K-TOP health cluster team provided mobile cinema and drama play for raising awareness in the community, before and after holding the VMWs festival on March 4th, 2013 (see also the related link).

The following photos and captions describe the summary of the drama play.

Scene 1: Street (in front of the shop)

One day, a shop owner (man) saw a pregnant woman passing the front of his shop.

He shouted to the woman,
"Why you are walking outside! A pregnant woman must stay in her home!"
The pregnant woman answered,
"Now, I'm on the way to the health center to take a medical check (antenatal care). My husband allows it, he is not like you."

The man totally could not understand.
"Go away, go back home!"
He again shouted and turned her away.

Scene 2: Home

The wife (center) of the shop owner was also pregnant and he was forcing her to stay at home.

However, she was not eating well.
The neighbor woman (right) came to their home and suggested the shop owner to call VMW.

She explained who is "VMW".
VMW is one who graduated from the midwifery school, specifically trained and received a license from Ministry of Health.

He refused and just chased her away.

VMW (left) came to the shop owner home.

She checked his wife situation, and said the wife has some danger signs and strongly recommends him to take her to the hospital.
The shop owner does not allow them to go to the hospital.
VMW showed the wife's situation (swelling, her eye seems to be anemia etc.) and tries to convince him. Moreover, she told him the importance of nutrition, delivery plan (save the money for the case of referring to hospital)etc.

During the discussion, the wife fell down.

Scene 3: Hospital

The wife was transferred to the surgery room in the hospital. VMW accompanied them.

The shop owner became panic and worried her wife.
The doctor explained to him his wife is now emergent situation and this is caused by what he has done until now. He also explained the importance of antenatal care as VMW did before too.

After the surgery, the wife delivered a baby safely. The shop owner thanked the VMW and doctor.

He said that he will never repeat again, and if his baby is a girl, he will let her to enter midwifery school and make her become VMW.

"That's it!!" (VMW and Doctor)

Besides the Drama Play

"Stop!"

During the drama play, sometimes one of the drama group members cut the play and asked questions to participants.

"If you want to go to the hospital but your husband does not allow it, what you will do?"
"I will call someone who can mediate us."

The drama play proceeds with making participants being involved.

Since the speaking words of the shop owner and his moves were so funny, participants could not stop their laughing. At the same time, when K-TOP team asked participants what they leaned from the drama play, we could know that they were learning what health cluster team wanted to tell regarding antenatal care and VMWs. The drama play turned out to be fun and useful.

In order to make men who are working during day time able to watch the drama play together, the drama play started in the evening. Boys who will be fathers in the future also enjoyed watching it.

(Reported by Mana Jingushi, Project Assistant)