Mothers and newborns pay the ‘price’ during Zimbabwe medics strike

PRI Zimbabwe HNN Team

This article was originally published by The World   In September, over 500 doctors under the banner of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) went on strike over poor working conditions and inadequate salaries, but it wasn’t until last month that nurses in Harare joined them — further crippling Zimbabwe’s already deteriorating health sector. As a … Continued

No training, no gloves: Zimbabwe’s desperate childbirths

AP Zimbabwe HNN Team

This article was originally published by AP By Farao Mutsaka When her contractions became unbearably painful, 18-year-old Perseverance Kanyoza rushed to a maternity hospital in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. But the doors were closed amid a weekslong strike by public health workers. With no money for private care, panic set in. A hospital guard directed her … Continued

Cut off from care in flooded Zimbabwe, pregnant women airlifted to safety

UNFPA Zimbabwe HNN Team

This article was originally published on UNFPA’s website here. HARARE, Zimbabwe – Chioniso Mutenda, 18 years old and nine months pregnant, lies on a bed in Mutambara Mission Hospital’s maternity waiting home. She is tired but relieved. Until recently, her safety and health were not assured. Just weeks ago, she survived Cyclone Idai, one of … Continued

Free maternity services require solid funding

NewsDay Zimbabwe HNN Team

THE heavily pregnant woman lying on the floor in a maternity ward at Harare Central Hospital stretches out her hand to greet First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa. For the briefest moment, the woman forgets about the hard, cold and uncomfortable surface and basks in the glow of being in the presence of “greatness”. A wide grin … Continued

Countries taking bold steps to end preventable newborn deaths within a generation; framework for ending maternal mortality released

Ethiopia, Nigeria, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mali, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe HNN Team

Countries are taking bold steps to end preventable newborn deaths within a generation. Additionally, a framework for ending maternal mortality has been released.

India Slips Down Motherhood Index

Bangladesh, India, Zimbabwe, Iraq, United States of America HNN Team

Just 19% of women in the poorest section of Delhi’s population had a skilled attendant present when they were giving birth. Among the richest women in the city however, 99% had a trained person around when they were in labor.

Zimbabwe Receives US$15 Million For Maternal Health

Zimbabwe HNN Team

US ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton said at a closing ceremony of the USAID’s MCHIP that the US government was committed to saving the lives of Zimbabwean mothers, newborns and children through the provision of financial and technical support.

African Countries Make New Investments in Health

Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya HNN Team

This year, as UNAIDS reported, low and middle income countries are for the first time providing more funding themselves for HIV than they are getting from external sources.

Global Fund Results Show Dramatic Gains

Mozambique, Tanzania, United Republic of, Zambia, Zimbabwe HNN Team

In the first half of 2013, the number of pregnant women living with HIV who have received a complete course of ARV therapy to prevent transmission to their unborn children under programs supported by the Global Fund grew from 1.7 to 2.1 million.

Bangladesh summit holds parliaments ‘accountable’ for maternal mortality

Nigeria, Bangladesh, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Malawi, Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya HNN Team

The Inter-Parlimentary Union organized a summit for MP’s from ten countries to discuss ways in which they could assume more accountability for maternal and newborn health concerns.