Maternal Health Adaptation (PSI Ethiopia)

Situation

Since 2017, PSI Ethiopia has successfully implemented Smart Start in four regions of Ethiopia with resources from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). Smart Start, works with married adolescent girls and their husbands to help them understand how delayed first birth and spaced pregnancies facilitate improved savings and capital to pursue their shared life goals. However, motherhood remains a primary goal for many, if not all, of the married adolescent girls who are reached through Smart Start. On average, 10% of Smart Start clients are pregnant at the time they are mobilized. The project recognizes a need to support them to have the information and agency they need to pursue healthy pregnancies when they do decide to become mothers. And, critically, to maintain continuity of care so that they can continue to act on their fertility preferences after birth.

Assignment

Design a component to be implemented within an existing SRH programme (Smart Start) that will support married adolescent girls to pursue healthy pregnancies through increased utilization of maternal health services.

Approach

Gaining Ethical Approval for the study Planning and facilitating insight gathering, designing qualitative research methods (group and individual interviews, vox pops, card sorting exercises) with girls, husbands, community leaders, Health Extension Workers, Woreda MCH coordinators, etc. Rapid prototype testing with girls, their key influencers and health providers, Co-facilitating a post-prototype testing synthesis workshop with ideo.org for the design team, including Youth Innovation Champions to refine prototypes and develop an MVP (a minimum viable product)

Results

Building on the findings from the rapid prototype testing, Emnet led the live prototype (MVP) testing, in order to test solutions in a system that’s as close to real-life conditions as possible. ​

This project was commissioned by Population Services International Ethiopia and performed by Emnet who was an employee of Population Services International Ethiopia. She is also a member of the Proportion Global community. If you’ve enjoyed reading this case and want to dive deeper, we’d love to hear from you and we will connect you with relevant designers like Emnet, who worked on this project Contact Us