Avec Nous (With Us): Participatory Video for Maternal Mortality

The film team comprised three midwives, three community liaison health staff, representatives of the WRA-BF, a local documentary maker, a student volunteer translator, and the InsightShare participatory video trainer. The team received training about filmmaking in Oagadougou and spent two days filming at the midwives hospital. They then spent three days in the neighbouring district of Fada where the other three health workers worked. The team visited hospitals and village clinics to carry out interviews with staff and village women about their experiences. They then visited a women's group in Fada where they screened previous footage, played some participatory video games, and then interviewed each other. This footage was again reviewed and discussed by the team. The group also filmed well known local pop star, Djata Ilebo, who campaigns for maternal health, performing her new song which would accompany the film.

The team left the cameras, a laptop, and footage with the editor who put together a 30-minute documentary. They met again six months later to edit together a shorter piece, which they screened in a district in Ouagadougou. They then filmed the feedback and discussion that took place after the screening, which was incorporated into the film. This version was shown to local journalists and politicians for further feedback from a new audience.

This feedback was then used to develop the final film, Avec Nous, which has been screened on pan-African TV, reaching 50 million viewers; the international film festival, FESPACO, and as a tool to influence policymakers at conferences and meetings. It has also been shown in communities throughout Fada and Oagadougou to raise awareness about the issues locally. WRA-BF also launched a poster campaign for the film in Ouagadougou which led to the film being taken on and screened by a local television station.

According to the organisers, although most of the footage did not make it into the film, the hours of talking, sharing, and discussing contributed to building relationships between health workers and local mothers.

Click here to watch the film.

Click here to view the Avec Nous photostory, which offers a visual record of the participatory video process behind the production.

Maternal Health

The WRA feel that the campaign has contributed significantly to an increase in the health budget for maternal health in Burkina Faso.The WRA believe that the debate it has inspired, with the accompanying campaigning, has been directly responsible for placing this issue at centre stage and convinced political leaders to increase the budget for maternal health.

InsightShare is an organisation that specialises in the use of Participatory Video as a tool for individuals and groups to grow in self-confidence and trust, and to build skills to act for change. Their Participatory Video methods aim to value local knowledge, build bridges between communities and decision-makers, and enable people to develop greater control over the decisions affecting their lives.