Josephine Awor doesn’t need statistics to know Uganda struggles to provide adequate health care to expectant mothers and babies. As a nurse who has worked with vulnerable populations in areas affected by conflict in South Sudan, she’s seen firsthand what happens when mothers are forced to deliver and care for newborns without medical assistance.
Still, the numbers don’t lie.
According to the World Bank, 310 women die in Uganda for every 100,000 live births, compared with just 21 in the United States and 12 in the United Kingdom. Infants fare even worse. In Uganda, 45 out of 1,000 infants never reach the age of one, compared with six in the U.S. and just four in the U.K.
Kenya and Tanzania’s infant and maternal mortality rates are as disturbing as those found in neighboring Uganda. Add in the HIV/AIDS crisis, poverty, and inadequate — or nonexistent — clinics and it’s clear that programs like these are needed more than ever in East Africa.
via Training nurses to save mothers and babies in East Africa | Rotary.
Ismailimail 