Funding cuts once put a critical maternal health initiative at risk. Thankfully, Jacinda Ardern’s Matariki Fund stepped in to support efforts to combat postpartum hemorrhage in South Sudan and Burkina Faso.
In areas where giving birth can be especially dangerous, a team of humanitarian organizations has launched the Safer Births in Crises initiative. This program aims to tackle one of the major causes of maternal death: postpartum hemorrhage, or excessive bleeding after childbirth. Led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), this project also includes partners like International Medical Corps, Jhpiego, and the United Nations Population Fund.
Globally, postpartum hemorrhage impacts around 14 million women each year and claims about 70,000 lives, primarily in low-income countries. Alarmingly, almost 80% of these deaths occur in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The initiative was initially set to expand across seven countries with a budget of $10 million. However, when funding was slashed, Jacinda Ardern intervened through her fund, securing $4 million to keep the initiative alive in two countries. This support offered a glimmer of hope to aid workers and the women they serve. Elaine Scudder, a maternal health advisor for the IRC, remarked, “It was a moment of believing that there was going to be light at the end of the tunnel.”
The situation in South Sudan is dire. Years of conflict and climate challenges have severely weakened the healthcare system. According to Kadra Noor Abdullahi, the IRC’s health coordinator in the country, only half of the population has access to healthcare. Even more alarming, 80% of women give birth without the assistance of a healthcare professional.
In Burkina Faso, nearly 30,000 pregnant women have lost access to prenatal care due to ongoing challenges. The new initiative aims to test an innovative approach using a plastic blood-collection drape. This tool quickly measures blood loss, allowing for faster identification of dangerous hemorrhaging in women after childbirth. Early studies show that this method can reduce severe bleeding and related deaths by up to 60%.
With this focus on early detection, the initiative will also explore giving women misoprostol to take home in case they cannot reach a hospital when it’s time to deliver. This could be life-saving in isolated areas.
The blood-collection drape is part of a longstanding effort to improve maternal health worldwide. The Gates Foundation has endorsed the E-MOTIVE protocol, which offers best practices drawn from research in high-risk countries. This protocol stresses that timely detection is vital. In busy delivery rooms, determining when blood loss becomes critical is challenging; the drape provides accurate measurements, helping healthcare providers respond quickly.
Dr. Polycarp Oyoo, from Kenya’s International Center for Reproductive Health, has witnessed remarkable improvements firsthand. “We’ve seen a staggering 60% reduction in severe bleeding,” he shared in a Gates Foundation post. His work has reached almost half of Kenya’s counties, training others to enhance maternal care.
Dr. Oyoo emphasized the fundamental right of every woman to safe childbirth. “No mother deserves to die while giving birth,” he said. “Birth is a process that gives life, and it should not result in death.”
As global awareness grows, initiatives like this shine a light on the urgent need for improved maternal healthcare in conflict zones. Highlighting these issues can foster support and, hopefully, bring about lasting change for mothers and children everywhere.
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