Bill Gates’s Heroes in the Field: Mamello Makhele

TL;DR

Mamello Makhele promotes maternal health in remote areas of Lesotho by hiking to educate women, encouraging safe facility-based deliveries, immunization, and postnatal care, and using social media to teach people about contraceptives. Many women must walk two or more hours to reach the nearest health facility, while COVID-19 restrictions caused facilities to close. Read on to explore her work, vision for women, and call for youth-led change.

Transcript

my name is mamelo machele i'm a midwife who works in the miranda so too to promote maternity health and well-being lesotho is strictly mountainous there's very remote areas do not have access to electricity to have care education nothing at all when i'm hiking to educate women in this very remote areas i feel empowered that i am about to bring a po... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌍 Access to healthcare: In remote areas of Lesotho, many women lack access to basic healthcare services, such as maternity care, due to the absence of electricity and educational resources.
• 💪 Empowerment through education: A dedicated midwife hikes to these remote areas to educate women, feeling empowered to bring positive change to their lives and promote safe deliveries, immunization, and postnatal care.
• ♀️ Physical barriers: Women face significant challenges in accessing healthcare, as they often have to walk for two or more hours to reach the nearest health facility. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues due to facility closures.
• 📲 Social media for health education: To overcome community restrictions and reach a wider audience, the midwife leverages social media platforms to empower and educate people across the country about contraceptives and family planning.
• 👥 Combatting gender-based violence: Lesotho grapples with alarmingly high rates of gender-based violence. To address this issue, efforts are being made to educate men and boys about women's rights, fostering gender equality and safer communities.
• 🗣️ Empowering women: The midwife aspires to empower women in Lesotho, advocating for their access to healthcare services, leadership positions, and the freedom to move without fear of sexual violence.
• 💔 Fragile health systems: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the vulnerability of Lesotho's health system, highlighting the urgent need for improvements in infrastructure, resources, and capacity to provide quality healthcare to all.
• 🌟 Youth-led change: The responsibility to shape the future of Lesotho's health system ultimately lies with young people, who must take a proactive stance in advocating for a stronger, more inclusive system that benefits all individuals, especially women.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Mamello Makhele improve maternal health in remote areas of Lesotho?

Mamello Makhele hikes into remote areas to educate women about maternal health and well-being. Her work includes encouraging pregnant women to deliver safely at health facilities, bring their children for immunization, and receive postnatal care.

Q: Why is healthcare difficult to access in remote areas of Lesotho?

Lesotho is mountainous, and its remote areas may lack electricity, healthcare, and education. Many women must walk for two or more hours to reach the nearest health facility for family-planning services.

Q: What maternal and infant health problems does Mamello Makhele describe?

She says Lesotho is experiencing high maternal and infant mortality. Her response focuses on safe deliveries at health facilities, childhood immunization, and postnatal care.

Q: How did COVID-19 affect access to family-planning services in Lesotho?

COVID-19 restrictions led health facilities to close, making services harder to reach. This compounded the existing burden on women who already had to walk two or more hours to obtain family-planning services.

Q: How did Mamello Makhele use social media during the pandemic?

She began using social media to empower and reach people across the country when COVID-19 restrictions disrupted physical access to facilities. Through it, she taught people about contraceptives.

Q: Why does Mamello Makhele want to educate men and boys about women’s rights?

During the lockdown, she observed an alarming rate of gender-based violence. She wants men and boys to learn about women’s rights and take a stand for gender equality within their communities.

Q: What is Mamello Makhele’s vision for women and girls in Lesotho?

She envisions an empowered nation where women can take leadership positions and access health and family-planning services. She also wants women to be able to walk freely in the street without fear of rape.

Q: What role does Mamello Makhele see for young people in Lesotho’s future?

She says young people must take a stand regarding Lesotho’s future and its wider health system. Her message places responsibility on young people to help shape change in the country.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Mamelo Machele, a midwife in Lesotho, works in remote areas to promote maternity health and well-being.

• She focuses on encouraging safe deliveries, providing immunization and postnatal care, and educating women about contraceptives.

• Machele also aims to educate men and boys about women's rights and fight for gender equality within their communities.