Namukisa Grace - A mother from Uganda
Story submitted by Consider Uganda
My name is Namukisa Grace. My husband’s name is Bulega Curantino. I live in Kyanga village, Gayaza sub-county in Kyankwanzi district (formerly Kiboga district). When I became pregnant in 2007, I visited Ntweetwe Health Center IV twice for antenatal care. The midwives there told me that the child I was carrying was in good condition. Read more
Story submitted by ChildFund International, Senegal
Maïmouna Faye is a 45 year old mother who has survived fourteen pregnancies and has ten living children. Her most recent birth proved to be the most difficult for her, and she survived with the help of a traditional birth attendant in her village by the name of Madjiguène Ciss. Read more
"If a mother has access to a trained midwife, a mother should not have to die" - Mama Zeena
A trained midwife and now a trainer of midwives, Mama Zeena has delivered countless babies in her long career. At one point, working in a refugee camp in Kenya, she was welcoming as many as 12 children a day into the world. Read more
Kenya, June 2011– Everywhere they went they were met by enthusiastic crowds who clamored for more – this was the WRA–Kenya Nairobi to Kisumu convoy. Traveling three provinces, making nine stops over five days, electrifying an estimated 15,000 with music and dance and educational interludes, everywhere delivering their message – “No woman should die while giving life.” – Read more
The World Health Organisation announced today that it has joined organisations such as Save the Children, White Ribbon Alliance, Merlin and Every Mother Counts in backing the Health Workers Count campaign.
” Health workers, the nucleus of health systems, are the hands that deliver health services to the populations. Often working under great pressure and difficult situations, they are rarely acknowledged and recognized for the value of their work. Despite promising progress in the past years, the severe scarcity of human resources for health still remains as a major obstacle to the achievement of the health related Millennium Development Goals. Globally 3.5 million new health workers are needed to ensure that every person everywhere has access to a skilled, motivated and supported health worker. “ Quote taken from WHO website
Thomas Chandy is CEO of Save the Children India
Describing India as a `healthcare desert’, a new study has said that over 55% of Indian children under the age of two do not receive comprehensive routine immunization. About 2.7 million children under the age of five do not receive treatment for diarrhoea. Significantly, the country also has the highest number of children under five dying every year. Read more
Durban, June 2011 - “The world needs midwives now more than ever.” WRA members from around the world were out in force in Durban for the 29th Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives, raising our voices and strengthening partnerships to make real the vision of every girl and woman seeking and receiving quality care before, during and after childbirth.
Activities Included
• Marching on “The Road to Durban: Midwives Walking for the Women of the World”
• Sharing knowledge and spreading lessons through presentations on panels and WRA booth
• Showcasing successes and sharing experiences through a half-day interactive workshop “Global Advocacy in Action: Making Voices of Midwives and Mothers Heard Worldwide”
• Gathering signatures on a global petition in collaboration with Save the Children and ICM calling for “more health workers with midwifery skills in the right places, at the right time, with the right training, the right support and the right pay” to be delivered by midwives delegations to policymakers in their home countries
• Launching Stories of Midwives, a multi-media collection of stories of midwives from over 20 countries who exemplify midwives’ crucial role as the linchpins of an effective maternity care system
July 13, 2011 • By Lotte Deckers Dowber •
Lotte Deckers Dowber is a Campaign Officer with Merlin. Merlin is one of more than 200 organizations calling for more health workers, better supported.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UbPSJCHgLE
Did you know that more than a third of mothers who die in childbirth live in a country that’s either mired in, or emerging from, conflict? Or that half of all children who die before their fifth birthday are born in countries suffering chronic poverty?
