Impact and evaluation

We are deeply committed to evaluating our interventions to ensure our programs are both effective and responsive to the communities we serve. Beyond routine monitoring, we track maternal and child health indicators to measure the impact of our work and keep our funders informed. Regular feedback is also shared with Mentor Mothers, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability for health outcomes in their communities.

Philani has also established key academic partnerships with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Stanford University and Stellenbosch University to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of our home-based interventions. Through collaboration with Zithulele Hospital, these partnerships have helped build an evidence base for the success of our programs.

Some key findings from our research outputs include:

Mothers supported by a Mentor Mother are three times more likely to exclusively breastfeed 

  Mothers supported and visited by Mentor Mothers are significantly less depressed

  There is a 30% decrease in problematic drinking among mothers visited by our Mentor Mothers

  Mothers supported by Mentor Mothers attend more ante-natal visits and are twice as likely to be free from birth complications

  Child malnutrition rates are halved in areas served by our Mentor Mothers

Please see below for a full list of our academic publications demonstrating these results.