Bajenu Gox: A Community Approach to Maternal and Child Health in Senegal (IMCHA)

 

This project will examine how to strengthen the Bajenu Gox Initiative's contribution to improving maternal and child health across Senegal. Former President Abdoulye Wade founded this community-based health worker program to train women to be leaders in reproductive health. Based on the Wolof term for godmother, the Bajenu Gox Initiative provides support to women during the prenatal, delivery, and post-natal periods. It also provides advice about caring for children under 5.

Community support for women
This project aims to improve the Bajenu Gox Initiative's long-term stability at the community level and establish systems that will allow the program to scale up nationally.

Researchers will use a community development approach based on a gender and social equity perspective to examine how to enhance the initiative's contribution. The research is structured in two phases:
-literature searches on holistic community-based maternal and child health approaches that have been tested in Senegal and other African countries, and possibly in Canada
-intervention research based on the findings in this literature

The project team will share the results through
-situation assessment and economic feasibility studies
-training materials
-a guide on how to effectively manage the initiative
-documentary to highlight the initiative's impacts
-scientific publications
-presentations at international conferences

Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa
This project is part of the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa program, a seven-year $36 million initiative funded by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).