According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), an average of 1,530 women become pregnant every day in Mali. Of these, 230 experience complications during pregnancy, while 20 die. About 100 of the children they deliver also die. In total, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, nearly 600,000 African women die each year as a result of complications related to pregnancy, or those experienced during childbirth. As a reflection of the seriousness of this problem, one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) calls for a reduction of maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015.

In this context, it is striking that Zegoua, Mali (pop. 22,000) did not see a single case of neonatal or maternal mortality in the period from January 2002 to August 2004. Eight nearby villages also reported zero deaths from these causes. Zegoua has met its MDG.

As detailed in this Inter Press Service (IPS) article, the organisation of women into teams has been crucial to this area's health care success. Zegoua's women have formed groups that plant cotton, peanuts, and rice; a share of the revenues generated is used to pay for consultations to check on the health of babies and new mothers, and to discuss family planning issues. In the event that severe problems develop during a pregnancy, the coordinator of each village team ensures that the endangered woman is transferred to a clinic that is equipped to deal with such emergencies. The funds are also used for vaccinations, as well as drugs for treating malaria.

Though it is inspiring to think that self-reliant, determined women can have such success, the regional secretary of the Pan-African Organisation of Women urged IPS that it is important for men to participate in the effort to prevent maternal mortality. "Everyone knows that men are the decision-makers, both within the family and in society. Women have to get men to agree if they're going to go to the health centre or pay for a prescription," she explained.

IPS Africa website