You know the old saying “success has many fathers?” It turns out success has many grandmothers as well, especially when it comes to reducing maternal and child deaths. Across many different African cultures, grandmothers are powerful authority figures when it comes to a wide variety of health, pregnancy, and child-rearing issues. As a result, NGOs are now enlisting grandmothers as key agents of change for women and girls, especially in rural areas where there are not nearly enough midwives and other health professionals. Grandmothers are helping to guide pregnant women to health facilities and educating them about proper prenatal care. They’re helping to change attitudes about female genital mutilation (FGM). They’re helping to increase newborn vaccination rates. They’re helping women space their pregnancies for health and safety. As Dr. Bouna Sall related to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, “Everyone obeys the grandmothers. Through them we can change many things.”
