CFC Launches Films on Maternal Mortality

Communicating for Change (CFC), a social media enterprise in its bid to enlighten Nigerians on the need to save Nigerian women from maternal mortality has launched three short films, Too Young, Too Far, and Too Late.
The films launched at the Silverbird Galleria Cinema in Lagos take a provocative look at the life- threatening reality of being pregnant in Nigeria, revealing women’s struggles with gender, pregnancy, abortion, childbirth and the corresponding challenges faced by husbands, boyfriends and families who have to deal with their own hopes, frustrations and fears.
Too Young, Too Late and Too Far tackle many of the issues responsible for the deaths of 144 Nigerian young women who die everyday from pregnancy related problems including lack of adequate healthcare services, misinformation, malnutrition, poverty, cultural barriers, unskilled birth attendants, uneducated mothers, lack of female empowerment, inaccessible healthcare facilities as well as poor sanitation.
CFC decided to launch its safe motherhood campaign with the production of these three short provocative films written by Ayotunde Aladese and Padma Ugbabe of CFC due to insufficient funds to produce an entire 90 minute feature film. 
CFC’s safe motherhood campaign is designed to bring safe motherhood into the public arena and strengthen the work of existing organizations working to stem maternal mortality.
The films are hard-hitting and shot in the “Nollywood” genre, using a combination of suspense, drama and poignancy to help educate audiences while also entertaining them.
CFC conducted nationwide research with leading Nigerian health organizations such as Action Health Incorporated (AHI), Society for Family Health (SFH), the Campaign against Unwanted pregnancy (CAUP), the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Grassroots Health Organisation of Nigeria (GHON) and the Women’s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC) before shooting the film.
Using research findings from in-depth interviews and focus groups, a seasoned group of writers developed a full length feature film script.
The research and script writing phase of the project was supported by the Ford Foundation while Dr. Boniface Oye Adeniran, obstetrician/gynaecologist, LASUTH and Dr. Babatunde Ahonsi, formerly of the Ford Foundation, provided the project with important health expertise.
Too Young, Too Late and Too Far are the beginning of broader communications to urge the private, public and civil society sectors to take critical action on reducing maternal mortality rate, to save the lives of pregnant women and help Nigeria achieve target five of the Millenium Development Goals of reducing maternal mortality by 75 percent by 2015.
Communication for Change, one of Nigeria’s leading development communications organizations, produces film, radio, television, print and web based media to tell development stories from an African point of view by ensuring that audiences across the continent are informed and empowered to make good choices.