BY: Kate Kerber and Ribka Amsalu; Originally posted on the Healthy Newborn Network (HNN) here
Imagine you are eight months pregnant with your third child with two other young children at home. The ground starts moving violently beneath you and panic sets in. You flee your collapsing home with your children. The aftershocks are intense and dramatic. You have lost family members and friends in the chaos and confusion. The earthquake devastates the healthcare system, leaving you no choice but to deliver your baby alone, or if you are fortunate, in a mobile or temporary clinic. Read more...
Updates
Survival of women and newborns in crisis
May 17th, 2011
Women Deliver Statement on Misoprostol and the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
May 17th, 2011
Statement to Stakeholders from Jill Sheffield, President of Women
This week marks an important step in our efforts to reduce maternal mortality worldwide. Misoprostol, a low-cost and life-saving drug, has just been added to the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML) for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage. This is vital because postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality, accounting for nearly one quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide, reaching as high as 60% in some countries. Read more...
Young People and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in Nigeria: Youth e-consultation
May 16th, 2011
By: Esther Agbarakwe & Kikelomo Taiwo, Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders; posted on the WRA blog here
Globally between 350,000 and 550,000 girls and women die from complications due to pregnancy and childbirth every year, while 10-20 million girls and women suffer from maternal morbidities according to UNFPA. Each death represents a family’s loss of a sister, daughter, partner, mother, or friend. Early sexual exposure is an important reproductive risk factor among young people in Nigeria as many of them lack information and life planning skills to delay the onset of sexual activities. Read more...
Celebrate Solutions: Training Community Health Workers in Lesotho
May 16th, 2011
By: Mariko Rasmussen, Communications Specialist at Women Deliver
In Lesotho, community health workers are saving lives, one mother at a time. Lesotho is a small Southern African country that faces numerous development challenges. There is a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS – nearly 1 in 4 adults is HIV positive – and there are high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. The mountainous terrain makes it difficult for many people, especially pregnant women, to reach healthcare services. Partners In Health (PIH), with support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, began a pilot project in 2009 to increase services to pregnant women in the area surrounding the Bobete health center and reverse this problem. Read more...
New UN Report Says Invest in Youth, Women, Reproductive Health to Reduce Poverty
May 12th, 2011
Investments in young people, women’s empowerment and reproductive health, including family planning, are critical to boosting least developed countries’ productive capacity and speeding their escape from poverty, according to a new report by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The report, “Population Dynamics and Poverty in the LDCs: Challenges and Opportunities for Development and Poverty Reduction”, says that the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs) have a large and rapidly growing youth population, with some 60 per cent of their population under the age of 25. Read more...