WAJAMAMA Community Health

“We come here, we’re happy, and we’ve learned to take care of ourselves.” ✨ Hear what one of the Mamas in Kajengwa had to say about how our Group Care Model (GCM) has positively impacted her pregnancy 🌼 Through shared stories and support, and collective knowledge from the Clinical Community Facilitators (CCFs) and program participants, GCM creates a safe space where Mamas can grow stronger together 🌱 Visit the link in our bio to learn more about GCM and how you can get involved! 💛

Five years in and we are more committed than ever to our mission of transforming maternal and child health outcomes across Zanzibar! ✨ Starting in January 2025, Nafisa Jiddawi will transition from her full-time role as a clinician at WAJAMAMA Family & Women's Health to lead our growing efforts at WAJAMAMA Community Health. This shift will allow her to fully dedicate herself to our mission of making integrated healthcare services accessible to women and children in economically marginalized communities. With the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed with the Ministry of Health, we will train government-employed Reproductive and Child Healthcare providers in our Group Care Model (GCM), building a sustainable model of care that breaks the cycle of trauma, poverty, and disempowerment across Zanzibar, and eventually Sub-Saharan Africa. 🌍 Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way. As we step into this new chapter, we remain steadfast in achieving our vision: a world where every woman is the healthiest version of herself—physically, mentally, and socially—and the beginning of each life is as healthy and beautiful as possible. Asante Sana! 💛 #WAJAMAMAStrong #MaternalHealth #ChildHealth #ReproductiveHealth #CommunityCare #MOHPartnership #Zanzibar

Providing empathetic healthcare is key! 🔑 Over the weekend, we were joined by Barbara Harper from Waterbirth International, Audentia Maternity, and Agnes Ndunguru (aka Midwife Aggie) for an insightful Gentlebirth training 🤰🏾 Healthcare providers ranging from nurse-midwives to doctors, including our own GCM Clinical Community Facilitators, from across Zanzibar came together to learn from thoughtful experts 🌸 Using facilitated discussions and simulation-based learning, participants learned about key topics such as water births and the importance of providing psychological and empathetic support to mamas during the birthing process ⭐️ Asante sana to all the facilitators for spending a full day with healthcare providers who were keen to learn more about how to provide gentle birthing care! 💛 #Zanzibar #WomensHealth #MaternalHealth #GentleBirth #WAJAMAMAStrong

We are thrilled to announce that our CEO and Founder, Nafisa Jiddawi, has won the ‘Women in Healthcare Award’ at the Zanzibar Women Recognition Awards. 🏆 We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Zanzibar Women Recognition Awards for providing a powerful platform recognizing women showing up and creating change in these spaces. 🫂 Thank you to everyone who voted; your support is both humbling and incredibly encouraging! 🌼 This award is not just a recognition of individual effort, but a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire TEAM. 💪🏿 We feel honored and motivated to continue our mission of improving access to quality healthcare, education, and community support in Zanzibar and beyond. ⭐️ Here’s to many more milestones together. Thank you for being here! ASANTE! 💛🙌🏿 WAJAMAMA Family & Women's Health #WAJAMAMAStrong #WomensHealth #ChildrensHealth #WomeninHealthCare #ZanzibarWomenRecognitionAwards

Check out what we go up to at this year’s team retreat 👀 Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team - and what a powerful one we have leading the way forward. 🫂 2025 is looking prosperous already, but we’re still finishing the year #WAJAMAMASTRONG! 💪🏿💛 #WAJAMAMA #Zanzibar #TeamBuilding #WomensHealth #MaternalHealth

It was a privilege to welcome representatives from the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health’s Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) Unit, and Health System Consultants to WAJAMAMA Family & Women's Health today! 🤩 The Ministry of Health is committed to strengthening the monitoring and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in #Zanzibar. They are collaborating with these stakeholders to develop Zanzibar’s NCD policies and strategic direction for the upcoming years, aiming to enhance the holistic wellbeing of our communities. Given WAJAMAMA's close alignment with this mission, we were invited to contribute to these discussions 💡 I was particularly proud to learn that mental health will be recognized as a vital component of the National NCD Strategic Plan. Additionally, we discussed the importance of involving schools to raise awareness about holistic wellbeing, which aligns with WAJAMAMA Community Health's Well-Girl program, integrating community outreach to increase NCD awareness into the pre-service education for medical and nursing students, and emphasizing disease prevention ✨ Naturally, I advocated for considering the inclusion of group NCD health check-ups and services in the national strategy. This approach not only allows individuals to benefit from essential preventive clinical services and screenings in an effective and efficient way, but also fosters peer-to-peer support, community building, self-assessments, and comprehensive learning about various NCDs and ways to prevent and control them 🌸 I am looking forward to continuing being a part of these vital conversations! 💜 #PublicPrivatePartnerships Yahya Ipuge

As the year wraps up, I’m reflecting on a milestone I hadn’t envisioned but am incredibly proud to have achieved. My dream has always been to contribute to the development of a mental health strategic plan for the Ministry of Health in Tanzania mainland. Instead, WAJAMAMA Community Health offered me an unexpected yet deeply rewarding opportunity: I was honored to participate in reviewing the Zanzibar Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health Strategic Plan (2019-2023). Notably, the current plan lacked a mental health component, which is an essential yet often overlooked aspect of maternal health. Alongside a team of dedicated experts, we successfully proposed and developed mental health indicators to be integrated into maternal health measures (A lot needs to be done still). This experience has reinforced my passion for ensuring mental health is a priority within maternal healthcare. As a Mental Health Officer at WAJAMAMA Community Health I am committed to building on this momentum in the coming year. My focus will be on fully integrating mental health into our Group Care Model, ensuring it’s not just a concept but a functional reality that supports mothers and families. I am deeply grateful to WAJAMAMA Community Health for the opportunity to contribute to the End-term Review, which enabled us to align with and support the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar’s strategic goals through meaningful collaboration. Here’s to 2025✨, a year of progress💪🏾, innovation, and greater integration of mental health into healthcare systems. #MentalHealthMatters #Maternalmentalhealth #HealthcareInnovation #Zanzibar cc: WAJAMAMA Team😎

This week, our team at WAJAMAMA Community Health participated in a strategic policy review, reaffirming our commitment to fostering healthier and brighter futures for every community in Zanzibar! 🌟 Along with other stakeholders from the health sector, we took part in the end-of-term review of the Zanzibar Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Strategic Plan. 🌍 During this two-day review, we assessed the achievements and challenges from the 2019-2023 RMNCAH Strategic Plan. Members also evaluated the effectiveness of collaborations between the Ministry of Health, development partners, donors, and RMNCAH-related entities. Following this evaluation, there was an opportunity to offer recommendations for the incoming 2024 RMNCAH+Nut Strategic Plan, including suggestions on maternal health indicators for the 2024 plan, such as perinatal mental health. 📚 This was just the first step in the review process, and we look forward to continuous collaborations with the Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders. Together, we are committed to improving reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in Zanzibar, as well as making policy changes that reflect our shared commitment to enacting positive change! 💛 #RMNCAH #Zanzibar #WAJAMAMAStrong

Last week at the Global Digital Health Forum in Nairobi, I had an amazing time learning, networking, and connecting with a wonderful new community. What truly stood out, however, was reconnecting with my existing community and partners 🌸 It was fantastic to reconnect with Joy from the Dovetail Impact Foundation and to finally meet Evan from Mighty Ally in person for the first time after three years of knowing her. Previously, I had wondered if she was even real because she seemed too good to be true 😝 , and guess what? She was just as amazing in person! ✨ I also had the opportunity to connect with Kenya's social impact leaders from Dovetail’s Acceleration Portfolio, some of whom I had only met through our Zoom calls. It was such an honor to share space with so many local leaders who are making significant strides in addressing their communities’ most pressing issues. As an OG Acceleration Portfolio graduate, I felt incredibly proud 🤩 I also enjoyed connecting with some Echoing Green fellows—because, of course, we are awesome and everywhere!—including Aisha Abdullahi Bubah, a fellow 2023 EG Fellow and a new-found sister, and Esther Wang, who not only shared her wisdom with me, as always, but also treated me to the beautiful Pallet Cafe in Nairobi, where they communicate solely in sign language. As WAJAMAMA Community Health strives to integrate disability and inclusion into all our programs, this experience was truly inspirational and eye-opening for me 💡 Lastly, I connected with Lenah Gideon from Partners for Equity, who has been a key sounding board for me this year, helping to propel WAJAMAMA Community Health to new heights. Spending time with Lenah is always refreshing—not only because of the wisdom she shares but also because her tough love continues to empower me to grow as a leader 🚀 #Nairobi was incredible, and I feel blessed to have such supportive communities from around the world. A special shout-out goes to the Segal Family Foundation, Echoing Green, the Dovetail Impact Foundation, and The New Africa Fund for connecting me with my tribe! I love the grassroots social impact world with all my heart. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of it and look forward to continuing to create, collaborate, and partner with other visionaries who are working tirelessly towards a healthier and brighter future for our beloved continent 🌍. Thank you all for always keeping me inspired 💛 #GDHF2024 #SocialImpactLeaders #LocallyLedSolutions #GrassrootsVisionaries #SFFRockstars Amisa Rashid Nivishe Foundation The Addis Clinic Ann Gloria Njoki Angaza Elimu wa-wa kenya Antony Kimathi

Healthy women = healthy world 🌎 How are we working toward this goal? 💡 ☑️We are reducing maternal and neonatal health complications through simulation based training. ☑️In 2025, our primary goal is to continue the development of a simulation training community alongside Zanzibar’s Ministry of Health. ✨Speaking is Dr. Salim SLIM (DrPH,MPH,MSc, BSc -Hons), Director of Preventive Services at the Ministry of Health, whose work is advancing preventive healthcare and improving service delivery in underserved areas across Zanzibar. ✨Our goal is to also make simulation-based learning part of our Group Care Model training: equipping reproductive and child healthcare providers who work for the public sector in Zanzibar to master our life-saving ‘Uzazi Bora Pamoja’ Group Care Model. We remain dedicated to shaping a future where every mother and child receives the care they deserve 💛