In one rural part of Ghana without health services , a support group for new mothers is making a big difference. Women who have children are sharing their knowlege about breastfeeding, nutrition and child development with first-time mothers.
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00:00Some say it's a sacred exchange of wisdom handed down by experienced mothers to new mothers.
00:07It's taking place in the rural Yeriga community of Pisiga, Ghana's Upper East Region.
00:13Fati Rahamani guides new mothers through the challenges of caring for an infant.
00:18The mother of seven and grandmother of four has been a volunteer for five years.
00:31Rahamani checks in on at least two new mothers daily.
00:37It's been a transformative journey through motherhood for women like Abdulganewu.
00:52The grassroots mother-to-mother support initiative consists of 40 volunteers.
00:57Its specialized teams are trained by UNICEF. They help pregnant women too.
01:02The initiative blocks a critical gap in a part of Ghana where health care services are scarce.
01:08These mothers are able to share their personal stories with each other,
01:12and that is helping some level of behavior to be changed.
01:16We can see that breastfeeding rates are improving currently,
01:20even though relatively they are still low, but they are improving.
01:24Ghana has a critical shortage of health care personnel.
01:27This deficit could reach 500,000 by 2035, according to Biomed Central.
01:33The growing number of nurses seeking work abroad is deepening the crisis.
01:37Government-run primary health care facilities are not available in all rural communities.
01:42It's a problem that these mothers cannot solve.
01:45How are they going to solve it?
01:47Because they don't have the ability to put up the structure.
01:51They don't have the ability to bring the nurses here.
01:55For now, we are not even fighting for a hospital.
01:58We are fighting for a small one, so that if we get nurses,
02:02they can always help us by taking good care of them, the whole community.
02:07Then we will be very, very glad.