SMNF

The Safe Motherhood Network Federation (SMNF) is a registered Nepali federation (2005) with a total of 488 member organisations from 59 of the 75 districts of Nepal, and 34 district branches and two regional branch offices, in addition to the main office in Sanepa, Lalitpur. SMNF focuses on advocacy and social mobilisation activities to ensure the basic human right to a dignified and healthy life for all women and children in Nepal. With only four paid staff, SMNF is largely dependent on the contributions of committed volunteers. SMNF has its roots in a loose network, known as the Safe Motherhood Network, which was formed after the 1996 International Women’s Day. Initially the founders pooled their resources to fund activities, later international agencies such as CEDPA and NSMP provided support.

The key objective of SMNF is to work towards the creation of greater synergy among national and international stakeholders for achieving identified goals for saving the lives of mothers and newborns through strengthened commitment and capacity of members for advocacy and awareness raising. Although it is a non-government advocacy agency, SMNF has close relations with the Government of Nepal and is a member of the Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health Sub Committee of the Family Health Division.

To accommodate the interests of its diverse membership, SMNF has seven working committees covering:
  • Advocacy
  • Capacity Building
  • Communication
  • Events
  • Technical matters
  • Women’s Empowerment
  • Finance and Resource Mobilisation