Your Support in Action: Strengthening Health in Zimbabwe
Mothers at Musume Mission Hospital receive Baby Care Kits provided by Lutheran World Relief.
Nurse Zivairugare Mangena teaches new mother Thelma how to safely wrap her baby for winter using items from the kit, including socks and layered blankets.
Thanks to your support, in 2025 GHM shipped three 40-foot containers to Zimbabwe filled with vital medical supplies and equipment. Among these shipments are special Blessing Multipliers: newborn kits from Global Health Ministries and Baby Care Kits and quilts from Lutheran World Relief.
GHM partners with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) and supports eight health facilities and programs. Several of these hospitals have Waiting Mothers’ Homes, an effective strategy to improve maternal and newborn survival by providing pregnancy care and safe, clinic-based deliveries.
“As a first time-mother with no one to support me and nothing prepared, I was scared and felt alone. Receiving the newborn kit gave me hope and confidence. It made me feel like I could be a good mother. I am so grateful because it gave my baby a clean and safe start in life.”
In Zimbabwe, neonatal deaths are twice as high when babies are born outside of a health facility (Noble C, et al. Neonatal mortality and delivery location in rural Zimbabwe. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36585673/). Home births without trained attendants greatly increase risks of hemorrhage, infection, and birth complications. By staying near the hospital, expectant mothers receive regular care so health workers can detect and treat issues like high blood pressure or breech presentation early, often making the difference between life and death.
Mothers at Masase Mission Hospital are grateful to receive Newborn Kits from GHM and Baby Care Kits and Quilts from Lutheran World Relief
At Musume Mission Hospital, in the Mberengwa District, many women come from families surviving on less than a dollar a day. Preparing essential items for a newborn can feel nearly impossible. To support safer deliveries, expectant mothers are encouraged to stay at the hospital’s Waiting Mothers’ Home during their final trimester, where they receive antenatal care (ANC) visits. The gifts of baby kits and quilts not only ease economic burdens, but also serve as an incentive for mothers to stay, and receive regular healthcare, meals, and wellness education.
During their stay, women gain critical knowledge on maternal and newborn health, including the importance of remaining close to a health facility during the last trimester. As Sr. Simbisai Mapendere, Sister-in-Charge at Musume Hospital, explains, “Waiting Mothers Homes help to identify risk factors early and manage them.”
Your support for these essential items is key to reducing infant mortality and maternal deaths. Mothers leave not only with essential items, but with knowledge and confidence. Many become ambassadors for the hospital, encouraging other pregnant women to seek antenatal care and to deliver safely at Musume.
Meanwhile, in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe, winter nights can be bitterly cold, and many homes lack heating or proper insulation, putting newborns at risk of pneumonia and hypothermia. At the Women’s Home at Masase Mission Hospital, maternal health educators lead group sessions on newborn care, winter health, hygiene, and breastfeeding. The kits and quilts you help provide are not only practical items, but they also serve as hands-on tools to teach mothers how to keep their babies warm and healthy.
These gifts have far-reaching effects. They help build trust between mothers and their healthcare providers, keeping mothers engaged not only with their own health and their babies’ well-being but also with the health of their communities. After birth, many women continue participating in peer support groups and go on to become advocates for safe deliveries in their villages.