“And we give them tea”

Huffington Post HNN Admin

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning the women of Sinai slums in Nairobi, Kenya gather at the Olivelink Healthcare Clinic. They bring their children for immunizations (for which they pay KES 20) and some bring Mandazi. I ask what Mandazi is and Josephine Suleiman, Founder of Olivelink Healthcare, explains with a smile and some amusement, “Mandazi … Continued

‘Sometimes the baby dies, sometimes the mother’: Life and death in Yemen’s hospitals

Washington Post Yemen

The infant was barely breathing when his uncle brought him to the hospital in a cardboard box. He was wrapped in a blue towel, and wads of cotton were stuffed around his frail body to keep him warm. Muhammad Haithem was just hours old, born two months premature.His mother had gone into labor when an … Continued

Local leaders’ influence helps safe child birth in rural Bangladesh

bdnews24.com Bangladesh

The family planning wing of the Bangladesh government has adopted a policy to use local government leaders’ influence in ensuring 24/7 normal delivery services and child care at the village level facilities.

Nigeria gets action plan to cater for sick newborns

The Guardian Nigeria

The Federal Government has launched three new policy documents to tackle health of newborns. They are Nigeria Every Newborn Action Plan, Essential Newborn Care Course (ENCC) training package and National Chlorhexidine Scale Up Strategy document. The action plan is to serve as a roadmap that focuses on packages of interventions that address care during labour, … Continued

Provider, improve thyself

MIT News India HNN Admin

Study shows unlicensed health care practitioners in India improve with modest training. Peter Dizikes | MIT News Office October 6, 2016 In the developing world, a large portion of health care providers have no formal medical training. Now a new study of rural India, co-authored by an MIT professor, shows that modest levels of medical … Continued

Giving birth in Guinea: a life or death lottery bereft of midwives and medicine

The Guardian Guinea HNN Admin

A baby was born, took one breath, then left the world again. No amount of the midwife pumping his legs up to his ribcage and back, or poking a finger hard and fast at his chest, would bring him back. His 17-year-old mother lay in pain on the delivery table as her son was wrapped … Continued

Vietnamese neonatal nurse wins int’l award

Thanh Nien News Vietnam

Vietnamese nurse Nguyen Thi Minh Hong has been named the winner of the International Neonatal Nursing Excellence Awards 2016 for her dedication to mothers and babies in one of Vietnam’s poorest areas over the past three decades. Hong was honored at the Ninth International Conference of International Neonatal Nurses (COINN) in Canada on August 15. She and … Continued

Strength of a Woman: Christine Maweu

Kenya Citizen TV Kenya

Most newborn deaths are preventable, yet Kenya currently has few nurses who are specifically trained in nursing of sick newborns in health facilities. Rural areas are particularly challenged with lack of equipment and personnel, and in such areas committed and passionate professionals are key in reducing infant mortality. In Kitui district hospital, a humble nurse has … Continued

“Clinical Appeal” Creates New Appeal in Bangladesh Rural Health

bdnews24.com Bangladesh

Not many women give birth at hospitals in Bangladesh, with only four in every 10 women delivering with the help of skilled hands. Postnatal care is also rare. But Suchitra Sutradhar is one of those few who, despite living in a remote village, gave birth at a facility and keeps coming to that centre for … Continued

Midwives Are Essential to Global Health

United States of America, Brazil, India, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Indonesia HNN Admin

By Jerker Liljestrand, Senior Program Officer of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Midwives have supported women during childbirth since ancient Egyptian times, and today, in many parts of the world, they are providing a unique set of lifesaving services for mothers and babies. Midwives are trained with a … Continued