Devex: Opinion: It takes a community to keep a mother healthy
Cassie Chandler, global manager for microfinance and health protection at Freedom from Hunger

“How do you encourage women most in need — and often hardest to reach — to access appropriate pre and postnatal care? And how can you reach large numbers of women, both efficiently and cost-effectively? … Financial services institutions … are often trusted actors that live and work in the community. Why not use the scale and structure of a microfinance institution to reach more women [and their families] … with health interventions? … How can we collaborate, taking advantage of each partner’s — be it a health provider, financial services practitioner, international development specialist, or other community actor — core strengths to achieve common goals and avoid reinventing the wheel? Resources exist, including guides written for microfinance institutions or other field staff, with tangible steps to designing community partnerships…” (11/3).