Medical charity MSF opens Ebola clinic for pregnant women

Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone HNN Team

Women are particularly vulnerable to a disease spread through direct contact with infected people and with the corpses of victims, because women often care for sick family members, said MSF Field Coordinator, Esperanza Santos.

Ebola Fears in Pregnant Women Reducing Healthcare Use

Sierra Leone HNN Team

Focus group discussions in Sierra Leone suggested that infection prevention and control training would reduce fear among healthcare workers and could help improve women’s confidence in health facility safety.

To boost fight against Ebola and strengthen community-based services for the future, UNICEF raises appeal to US$500 million

Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone HNN Team

UNICEF is accelerating its work in the heart of communities to stop the outbreak, support early isolation of cases, promote more safe burials and raise continued awareness and understanding of the virus and its risks.

Philippines: Newborn babies shriek as typhoon passes Cebu

Philippines HNN Team

Ruby Marie was one of six babies born at Daanbantayan District Hospital while residents of the town were bracing for the strongest typhoon to menace the country this year.

A New Partnership to Protect Mothers and Newborns in the Midst of the Ebola Outbreak

Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Tanzania, United Republic of, Togo HNN Team

Jhpiego is partnering with the Society of African Gynecologists and Obstetricians (SAGO) to expand and reinforce Ebola preparedness training for frontline health workers across West Africa in the event the virus outbreak spreads further in the region.

Being born too early is now the leading cause of death in young children

Nigeria, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Pakistan HNN Team

The findings, published in the journal The Lancet, found nearly 1.1 million children died in 2013 as a result of being born prematurely.

India leads in preterm birth complication deaths: Study

Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola, Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Liberia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Kenya HNN Team

“We have an epidemic of preterm and newborn deaths that represents one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century. Two-thirds of these deaths could be prevented without intensive care,” said Francisco.

Perilous year for Philippine typhoon mothers

Philippines HNN Team

“There’s no question in my mind the poor are poorer than they were before the typhoon… many thousands of families in the typhoon-affected areas are still living hand to mouth,” Olney said

Heart-Rending Test in Ebola Zone: A Baby

Liberia HNN Team

Many health workers in Liberia and its virus-ravaged neighbors have contracted Ebola while attending to births and being exposed to blood and other body fluids, provoking fears of providing maternity care.

Ebola effect reverses gains in maternal, child mortality

Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone HNN Team

When Ebola broke out in Sierra Leone in May, and Liberia in August, the number of births attended by a health professional in Liberia dropped from 52 percent to 38 percent.