Wajamama Zanzibar

WAJAMAMA is a grassroots, women-led organization based in Zanzibar that is transforming reproductive, maternal, and child health–starting locally and designed for broader relevance across sub-Saharan Africa. By combining direct service delivery with government partnerships and capacity building, WAJAMAMA is transforming the way maternal and child health services are delivered and is now poised to scale its proven model through national and regional systems. Through the Group Care Model (GCM), women receive clinical services, peer support, and facilitated health education in trusted group settings–from pregnancy through postpartum–while the Healthcare Workforce Development (HWD) program equips nurse-midwives with evidence-based training, clinical mentorship, and trauma-informed care. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, WAJAMAMA is expanding this model to 58 facilities, training 500 providers, and reaching women and babies with high-quality, equitable care over the next five years. Designed for national integration and eventual replication across borders in sub-Saharan Africa, WAJAMAMA’s model strengthens health systems, builds local capacity, and enables a pathway to scale high-quality, equitable maternal and child health services across the region.