Driven by traditional leaders, a “magic” ointment is preventing deaths in newborns: A story from Sokoto
Nigeria Health Watch
Nigeria
HNN Team
Gagi community on the outskirts of Sokoto in Northern Nigeria is a settlement where everyone knows each other. Modern and traditional style buildings sit side by side. People are gathered in groups in what is popularly known as ‘Majalisa’, or council on either side of the road, in between clusters of shops and houses. One … Continued
In Sembabule, getting maternal health services is a nightmare
Daily Monitor
Uganda
HNN Team
SEMBABULE. It is noon at Ntuusi Health Centre IV in Sembabule District. The centre serves close to 60,000 people from Ntuusi Rural, Kyeera, Ntuusi Town Council, Nabitanga and Lwemiyaga sub-counties that make up Lwemiyaga County. Patients, caregivers and other guests are moving in and out of the centre. Inside the health unit, nurses and midwives … 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
Health workers saving preterms with simple interventions
New Vision
Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda
HNN Team
A 0.6kg newborn lies peacefully in an incubator at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. After a routine check from the midwife on duty, all seems well. “It is in good state. I am certain we are going to save this one too,” says the midwife, with fulfilment written on her face. Preterm birth complications according to … Continued
Displaced by crisis, South Sudan midwifery students focus on saving mothers
United Nations Population Fund
South Sudan
Mark Booker
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
Tanzania gallery: the struggle for life without water at the Nyarugusu Dispensary
The Guardian
Tanzania, United Republic of
HNN Team
At Nyarugusu in the Geita district in north-west Tanzania, life is a constant struggle, one that is made infinitely harden by the absence of running water. Photographer Sameer Satchu travelled to the area and recorded these images of daily events at a medical facility, the Nyarugusu Dispensary, for Water Aid.
How Mbale Regional Hospital reduced newborn mortality from 52 to 11% in under 3 years
Makarere University Centre of Excellence for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
Uganda
HNN Team
Ms Barbara Auma (right) of Tororo would now be in her final two weeks of pregnancy but her baby came almost three months earlier, writes Kakaire Ayub Kirunda. Prior to her ‘delivery’ Barbara bled for two days and the attending doctor had already written off the viability of the pregnancy outcome, documenting it as an abortion. … Continued
Acting on the call (AOTC) 2017 Summit kicks off in Addis Ababa: “Let’s make the world a better place for mothers and children”
WHO Africa
HNN Team
Addis Ababa, 24th August, 2017: The 4th Acting On The Call (AOTC) conference started on the 24th August 2017 at the African Union, Addis Ababa Ethiopia with a theme “Overcoming Critical Barriers to Maternal and Child Survival”. The AOTC conference which is hosted by the governments of Ethiopia and India gathered more than 500 participants from … Continued
Uganda’s boda boda babies: Indian-made motorcycle taxis have come to the rescue of pregnant women
Uganda
HNN Team
With ambulance coverage poor, boda boda drivers ferry women to health facilities, even deliver their babies. Kamukama Benic is not a doctor, or even a paramedic. But has considerable experience helping women deliver babies in the eastern Uganda region where he lives and works. Benic drives a boda boda – the East African term for … Continued