HomeNewsroomNews UpdatesUSAID MADANI Citizen Hearings Advance Maternal and Child Health Policies and Programs

USAID MADANI Citizen Hearings Advance Maternal and Child Health Policies and Programs

Feb 5, 2023

Citizen hearings are one way for civil society to effectively participate in strengthening government accountability and improving public services, as they produce important policy and program recommendations.

A citizen hearing session in Boyolali is in motion.

A citizen hearing session in Boyolali is in motion.


On 28 January 2023, USAID MADANI’s civil society partners in Boyolali (Central Java) organized a citizen hearing related to maternal and child health. The event is the second in a series of citizen hearings that MADANI’s civil society partners will hold across 15 districts and related to the project’s focus areas. Youth, pregnant women, midwives, health volunteers, religious and community leaders, and government decision-makers comprised the 35 people who attended the event in Boyolali. They formulated a list of challenges and potential solutions related to a variety of issues, including mental health among pregnant women, the quality of the national health insurance program, family and community support, geography, village government support, and the high incidence of child marriage.