Updates

By Kate Ixer; Health Poverty Action is a winner of the Women Deliver 50.

In April 2010, Sierra Leone introduced free health care for pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers to help reduce the maternal mortality and morbidity rate. Almost two years on from this watershed significant improvements have been made and many women have received the health care which they previously would not have been able to afford. Sierra Leone, a country where 70% of the population is living in extreme poverty, illustrates that free health care is crucial to improving women’s health rights. Read more... 

By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver

Telecom provider Etisalat was recently honored at the GSM (Groupe Spéciale Mobile)Association Awards, for its new maternal health product. The company has received the awards for “Best Mobile Health Innovation” and “mWomen Best Mobile Product” for its innovative service program called “Etisalat Mobile Baby.”

Nearly all maternal mortality cases occur in developing countries, with 1 in 31 deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of these deaths can be prevented by ensuring greater access to information for health workers, more timely arrival at health facilities, and increased ability to recognize problems during pregnancy. Read more...

By: Nadene Brunk, Midwives for Haiti is a winner of the Women Deliver 50

Midwives For Haiti began educating Haitian women, in the skills that save mother's lives, in 2006. We began by teaching under trees, in the laundry room of a hospital, in an outdoor restaurant; wherever we could find room to teach and learn. With no textbooks in Creole, the native language of the majority of women in Haiti, we improvised and created teaching materials with our students. We learned that Haitian women are hungry for knowledge and have seen enough maternal and infant death to know they want to be a part of ending the suffering and grief. Read more...

Hesperian Health Guides has launched a free mobile application for iPhone which covers topics including pre-natal health, danger signs during pregnancy, birth and post-natal care, and 20 how-to items for health workers, such as how to take blood pressure. 

The app is designed to be accessible to those in rural settings. Once downloaded to an iPhone, the information can be accessed with no Internet connection required. Read more...