The campaign on accelerated reduction of maternal mortality in Africa (CARMMA) was an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) that aimed to curb the continentally-high pregnancy-related deaths. The campaign’s objective was to promote and advocate for renewed and intensified implementation of the 2006 Maputo Plan of Action (MPoA) to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality by improving health outcomes for women and children in Africa (Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XI)).
The Campaign was launched in May 2009 under the theme: “Africa Cares: No Woman Should Die whileGiving Life”. The CARMMA campaign was designed to use policy dialogue, advocacy and community mobilization to enlist political commitment, increase resources and societal change in support of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH). The campaign was driven by the member states where they were expected to demonstrate their commitment to maternal, new-born and child health by nationally launching CARMMA, and developing follow-up implementation plans to monitor the progress of their commitments.
In 2019, the AUC undertook an evaluation of the CARMMA campaign to determine the relevance, appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the campaign.
Following the in-depth evaluation, the Commission organized consultative meetings with partners, key stakeholders and recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to determine ways to strengthen the CARMMA campaign. The consultative meetings sought to determine and to articulate the roles of the African Union Commission recognized RECs and partners in ensuring that all preventable maternal deaths end by 2030.
Women are the backbone of African communities – they are farmers, they are business people, they are care givers
An evaluation of CARMMA campaign from the period May 2009 to December 2018 was commissioned by the African Union Commission (AUC), Department of Social Affairs to determine the relevance, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the campaign and to make recommendations that would allow the campaign to further contribute to the reduction of maternal, new-born and child deaths and the achievement of the AU’s ‘Transformational Agenda 2063’, the global Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) and other global commitments. The evaluation comprised of a literature and data review, interviews with key stakeholders throughout Africa, an assessment of national MNCH indicators and a comparative analysis of the 51 African member states that had launched the CARMMA campaign by the end of 2018. The evaluation revealed that member states that embraced the campaign at the highest political levels made significant improvement in their MNCH indicators. A number of recommendations were made to strengthen the campaign between 2021 to 2030 with the aim of ending all preventable maternal, new-born, child and adolescent deaths by 2030.
The next phase of implementation (CARMMA Plus) 2021 – 2030 will focus on unfinished Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) health agenda for women, newborns, children and adolescents. Similarly, it will take into account the sustainable and transformative agendas of the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and Agenda 2063 the Universal Health Coverage by 2030, and the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health (2016-2030)(Every Woman Every Child, 2015; United Nations, 2016; World Health Organization, 2017b) for women and children with a specific focus on adolescent health.
It is expected that the CARMMA Plus campaign will serve as a catalyst to member states in efforts to end preventable deaths (survive), ensure health and well-being (thrive) and expand enabling environments (transform) for women, children and adolescents. Considering the exapanded scope of CARMMA Plus, the new slogan will be “Africa Cares: Better reproductive health for women, children and adolescents by 2030”. The new slogan focuses on people-centered reproductive health outcomes inclusive of women, children and adolescents. Meaningful male involvement will also be part of the initiative to realize improved RMNCAH in Africa.
