Delivering Birth Justice: Mapping Grassroots Priorities in Maternal and Newborn Health
Across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, grassroots advocates shared what’s really driving injustice in maternal and newborn health today. Their insights reveal deep disconnects between lived realities and national or donor-driven agendas:
- Obstetric violence, unsafe abortion, and gender-based violence excluded from national health strategies.
- Civil society participation that is symbolic, not substantive, leaving community leaders present but unheard.
- Grassroots groups underfunded and overlooked, even though evidence shows they deliver long-term, systemic change.
- Donor dependency and shrinking resources, creating space for anti-rights actors to gain influence.
This five-country mapping—produced through desk research, interviews with grassroots leaders, civic data, and media analysis—lays the groundwork for justice-driven investment in maternal and newborn health. Rooted in feminist principles, it centers the priorities of frontline advocates, midwives, and activists who know what real solutions look like.
Together with our partners, Global Fund for Women—a feminist funder for gender-justice movements—and with support from UK International Development—we created the Birth Justice Initiative to back the power of frontline leaders and direct resources to the communities most impacted. As Comotion, a social change agency, we know that lasting transformation starts with grassroots advocates. The Birth Justice Initiative is about ensuring they have the resources and influence to shape the policies and systems that determine maternal and newborn health.
The findings make one thing clear: justice in maternal and newborn health will never be delivered from the top down. It must start by shifting power and resources to those already carrying the burden of advocacy and care.
Read the summary of the Birth Justice Country Mapping Report here.
For a copy of the full report, email hello@wearecomotion.com
