Labor of love: Gill native describes spending the holiday season as a midwife in South Sudan

Daily Hampshire Gazette South Sudan HNN Team

This article was originally published by the Daily Hampshire Gazette By Maureen O’Reilly On Christmas Day last month, Elizabeth “Liza” Ramlow, of Gill, awoke eight hours ahead of her family in western Massachusetts. It wasn’t because she’s an earlier riser. Instead, eight time zones, the Atlantic Ocean and about half the continent of Africa separated … Continued

In South Sudan, Midwives Bring Down Deaths Despite the Odds

Associated Press South Sudan HNN Team

JUBA, South Sudan — Seated in a stifling hallway in South Sudan’s main hospital, the midwife recounted the day she watched a young mother bleed to death after giving birth. “She died while holding my hand,” said Aber Evaline, hanging her head. Her patient was one of more than 40 women who died in Juba’s … Continued

‘Miracle’ six-day-old baby survives Ebola

BBC News Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, South Sudan HNN Team

A baby girl who was diagnosed with Ebola when she was only six days old has survived, health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have confirmed. Baby Benedicte’s mother was infected with Ebola and died during childbirth. Benedicte showed symptoms only days later and it has taken five weeks of round-the-clock treatment to … Continued

Inside a Neonatal Clinic in South Sudan: ‘In Some Ways, It Felt Wrong to Be Here’

New York Times South Sudan HNN Team

JUBA, South Sudan — We noticed the quiet first. As we removed our dirt-caked sneakers, slipped on flip flops and entered the nursery in Juba Teaching Hospital’s newborn ward, a hushed tension washed over us. A bulb flickered relentlessly above the dozen or so newborns in the room. Many of the babies here weighed less … Continued

Born Too Soon in a Country at War. Their Only Hope? This Clinic.

New York Times South Sudan HNN Team

This baby girl has stopped breathing. She was born prematurely and is only 3 weeks old. Her mother, Restina Boniface, took her to the only public neonatal clinic in South Sudan. The country is one of the toughest places in the world for newborns with health problems to survive. Ten feet away sits a donated … Continued

Displaced by crisis, South Sudan midwifery students focus on saving mothers

United Nations Population Fund South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan – Nyomon Lilian will never forget the day she decided to become a midwife. It was a few years ago, in her hometown of Kajo Keji, in South Sudan’s Equatoria region. She watched as her neighbour bled out after giving birth. The woman was rushed to the hospital, but it was too … Continued

Thrive Networks and Embrace Merge Newborn Health Solutions: Programs Join Forces to Multiply Lifesaving Impact

Afghanistan, Benin, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, Vietnam, South Sudan

Thrive Networks and newborn care innovator Embrace are joining forces to increase the reach and impact of their solutions to a persistent global health challenge: the unacceptably high newborn mortality rate in countries around the globe. 

Giving Birth amid Chaos in South Sudan

South Sudan HNN Team

Ms. Akuol was seven months pregnant when she escaped Bor State with her family after violence broke out between government and opposition forces in mid-December 2013.

South Sudan: ‘One of the most dangerous places to give birth’

South Sudan HNN Team

South Sudan is one of the most dangerous nations on earth to give birth, according to a new report from Save the Children.