Faith Leaders Advocating for Maternal Empowerment (FLAME)

In 2015, the average Ethiopian woman had a 1 in 64 lifetime risk of death due to complications of childbirth and 87,414 newborns died before their 28th day of life. Demand for MNCH services, however, remains low in Ethiopia's rural communities most at risk with only 16% of women delivering in a health facility.

The investigator's project responds to the challenge of creating demand for existing MNCH services in rural Ethiopia, which fell short of reaching Millennium Development Goal targets for reducing preventable maternal and neonatal deaths. This study addresses two strategic drivers to prevent maternal mortality identified by USAID including improving individual, household, and community behaviors and norms and increasing equity of access and use of services by the most vulnerable.

The primary objective of the study is to determine the impact of a behavior change intervention that partners Ethiopian Orthodox priests with members of the Health Development Army (HDA) and trains them to conduct maternal health outreach to increase births attended by skilled health personnel among women who attend ≥1 ANC visits.