Why is iron an important part of the diet of pregnant mothers? Why should one protect oneself against mosquitoes? What is folate and in which food is it available? These are some of the issues that pregnant women learn with the help of a mobile application and videos in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Mozambique and India. The educational videos, which have been translated into many languages, give instructions aimed at improving the health of mothers and children, based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization WHO. For example, the Kenyan ministry of health uses the videos to disseminate information nationwide.

The GloCal videos are part of a training project funded by the University of Helsinki, Academy of Finland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 2015–2018. The aim is to improve the nutrition and health of pregnant women in developing countries. The impact of GloCal videos has been studied in Kenya in cooperation with the Kenyatta University, UNICEF and the country’s ministry of health. The results of the study show that the mothers’ knowledge improved greatly because of the work. Those children who took part in the reseach had also significantly better nutrition than other children.

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Photo: GloCal/Marja Mutanen, graphics: Juho Hiilivirta