Maggie’s mission to deliver dignity for every woman

For a woman in labour, clean water can mean more than comfort—it can mean safety, dignity and a healthier start for her newborn.

Yet across Malawi, some women still give birth in health facilities where reliable water, functional sanitation and handwashing facilities are luxuries.

It is against this backdrop that women’s rights advocate Maggie Kathewera Banda has been unveiled as Time to Deliver Campaign champion, taking up a national call for clean water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) for every woman, every birth and every future.

The campaign, led by WaterAid Malawi, seeks to highlight challenges women and girls face when accessing maternal healthcare in public health facilities.

For Maggie, the new role is more than a title. It is a responsibility to amplify women’s voices, push for action on the conditions in which mothers give birth and healthcare workers operate.

“It is both an honour and a profound responsibility. It tells me the work I have done in advocating for women’s rights has been recognised. It gives me an even bigger platform to speak about issues that directly affect the lives and dignity of women in Malawi,” she says.

Maggie says she felt humbled and grateful, but immediately thought about the responsibility that comes with the role.

She thought about women who travel long distances to access maternal healthcare and those whose voices are often unheard when decisions about their health are being made.

“So, for me, this is not simply a title. It is a call to action to use my voice, experience and platform to help move the conversation from promises to tangible change,” she said.

Maggie added that giving birth safely and in a clean environment is not a privilege or a luxury, but a fundamental right.

“Time to Deliver seeks to ensure health care facilities are adequately funded to have safe water supply systems, toilets and sanitation facilities, handwashing stations, healthcare waste management facilities and infection prevention infrastructure to ensure clean, safe and dignified healthcare services.

“So, we need action, investment, accountability and services that actually work for women. At its heart, Time to Deliver is asking: What will it take to ensure that every woman, regardless of where she lives or how much money she has, can give birth safely and with dignity?” she narrated.

Through the campaign, Maggie believes she carries the responsibility to amplify women and girls’ voices, defend their rights and keep their realities at the centre of the conversation.

“I also feel responsible for ensuring the campaign does not become another conversation that generates awareness only, but produces no tangible change in promoting Wash in relevant spaces where change happens and decisions are made,” she said.

Maggie added that her vision is to help push for accountability and encourage decision-makers to listen to women and respond to what they are telling us.

She said her responsibility is to keep asking difficult questions: Are women safe? Do health facilities have what they need such as safe water supply systems, toilets and sanitation facilities, handwashing stations in all points of care, healthcare waste management facilities and infection prevention infrastructure?

“Are sufficient resources allocated towards improving these in healthcare facilities? And are we doing enough to protect the lives of mothers and newborns from hospital acquired infections among other challenges they encounter at the health care facility?” she said.

Despite the challenges, Maggie acknowledged that Malawi has made progress in improving maternal health and said the commitment of healthcare workers and others who work every day to save mothers’ and babies’ lives should be recognised.

“Inadequate financing for operation and maintenance of maternal facilities, shortages of essential medicines and equipment needed for maternal and child health, insufficient human resource and geographical barriers to accessing healthcare just to mention a few,” she said.

Maggie also added that sustainability of Wash infrastructure in health care facilities has become a big issue, affecting the fight against infections and leading to high cases of hospital acquired infections such as maternal and neonatal sepsis that may lead to death in some cases.

She said Wash must be treated as a fundamental part of maternal healthcare because you cannot separate a woman’s health from the environment in which she receives healthcare.

“When a woman is giving birth, she is particularly vulnerable to infection. If a health facility does not have reliable access to clean water, functional toilets, handwashing facilities, proper waste management and basic hygiene, we are creating conditions that can put both mothers and newborns at risk,” she said.

During her tenure, Maggie hopes to help promote safe and dignified maternal healthcare.

She would like to see women’s voices incorporated into discussions about maternal healthcare, greater attention to Wash in health facilities, stronger accountability from duty-bearers and greater public understanding that safe motherhood is everyone’s responsibility.

“I should be able to look back and say we truly made a difference if women tell us their experiences in health facilities have improved. Success is when advocacy translates into a better experience and better outcomes for a woman giving birth,” she added.

To ensure women’s voices remain at the centre, Maggie said there has to be listening.

“The women who use health services are experts in their own experiences. We need to deliberately create opportunities for women from rural and underserved communities to share what happens to them from the moment they seek care at a healthcare facility to the moment they return home,” she said.

She added that listening cannot stop at collecting stories. Their experiences must influence decisions, priorities and solutions.

Through this campaign, she expects everyone to understand that maternal health or safe and dignified childbirth is not only a government responsibility. It is a societal responsibility.

Maggie said her journey has taught her that one woman’s voice can start a conversation, challenge a system and inspire other people to speak.

But she has also learned that one voice becomes much more powerful when it connects with many other voices.

“Advocacy is not about being the loudest person in the room. It is ensuring people whose lives are affected by an issue are heard and that those with the power to change things listen.

“To every woman in Malawi, I would say: Your life matters. Your health matters. Your dignity matters. And you have the right to be treated with respect when you seek maternal healthcare services,” she said.

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