Improving maternal healthcare in rural Nigeria with free drugs and birthing kits

In Kern County, where pregnancy-related mortality rates are more than double the California average and Black mothers face life-threatening complications at nearly three times the rate of white women, community doulas are working to bridge the gap between patients and the medical system. Since California expanded Medi-Cal coverage to include doula services in January 2023, more than 1,400 doulas have enrolled statewide, with active training pipelines building the workforce locally.

In 2025, Bauchi State launched the Impact Project to address Nigeria's maternal health crisis by deploying 100 Skilled Birth Attendants across 20 Local Government Areas, alongside free delivery kits and regular salary payments to increase access to professional childbirth care.

The Mamacare Foundation has trained over 860 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in hygiene, safe delivery practices, danger-sign recognition, and timely referral systems over the past decade to improve maternal care in the region. The program pairs each TBA with a supervising midwife, creating a collaborative bridge between traditional and modern maternal care. The training has increased referrals from TBAs to clinics by 40%, and district hospitals report fewer emergency cases arriving in critical condition since the Foundation has formed.

Black parents are at greater risk of experiencing serious complications during pregnancy and childbirth, which is why preserving Black birth care, like doulas, is so important to preventing unnecessary deaths and medical interventions. The doula community is growing and there’s currently a push among local doulas and providers to grow the network of doulas of color to increase the accessibility of relevant and representative birth care.

The Iowa Black Doula Collective trains doulas to help educate and advocate for Black women during pregnancy and childbirth. Research shows women who work with doulas are less likely to have low birth-weight babies and experience birth complications. Since forming in 2020, the Collective has raised over $200,000 and trained 64 Black doulas.

The Niger State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has recruited 200 midwives, assigning at least one to healthcare facilities across the state, in an effort to address high rates of maternal and infant death during childbirth. There are currently 266 midwives distributed among facilities, helping aid in midwife retention and increase access to care.

The state Ministry of Health in partnership with other local organizations is providing educational, medical outreach for pregnant women to discuss malaria, maternal mortality and the importance of having regular medical checkups, while providing necessary resources to increase their access to care.

The Women-Inspired Neighborhood (WIN) Network: Detroit works to improve Black infant health outcomes by providing support services like group prenatal care, targeted home visits, and breastfeeding programs. By using the CenteringPregancy model, over 600 women have gone through the program and there have been zero preventable infant deaths. Win also helps direct women toward resources like stable housing and higher education.

Accredited social health activists (ASHA) travel throughout Indian villages to combat medical misinformation — specifically among pregnant people — and make public healthcare more accessible. ASHAs connects with over 60% of the women in the villages she serves via WhatsApp, sharing educational videos to avoid the harmful effects of misinformation. As a result, ASHAs have had a massive impact on maternal mortality rates. In 2006, the maternal mortality rate was 254 deaths per 100,000 live births, but in 2020 it dropped to 96 per 100,000 births.

Medical Missionaries of Mary is a Christian faith-based organization that works to complement the government's efforts of helping those experiencing vesicovaginal fistula by providing access to surgery for free. The group also addresses stigma around the condition and helps create a sense of community for patients.