MamaYe to the wider public through blood donation drives

This case study is part of our book, MamaYe Evidence for Action Stories of Change: Selected Case Studies. Through illustrative case studies, we describe how Evidence for Action - MamaYe has strategically combined evidence with advocacy and accountability activities in
six countries, across Africa, and globally.

Our programme has used blood donation as a hook to engage African citizens in the MamaYe campaign across five MamaYe countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Tanzania. In this case study (no.12), we examine Malawi and Tanzania’s experiences more
closely.

We find that the MamaYe campaign blood donation drives broke the mould to convincingly demonstrate that the public are willing to give their blood to support maternal and newborn survival, prompting further personal and political activism for mothers and babies. Levels of
blood donation were unprecedented and the experience has caused a policy shift in the way that national blood transfusion services organise themselves to collect blood.