This campaign has now closed

Maternal mortality in Afghanistan is the second highest in the world. One woman in eight dies from pregnancy-related causes. Most of these horrendous deaths are of young women and can be relatively easily prevented. Working with village women themselves, their husbands and the health service provider, we are determined to set up means which will continue to prevent as many deaths as possible year on year.

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Categories

  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls

    Situation

    In rural areas of Afghanistan only one birth in ten takes place in a health centre. The rest take place at home without a midwife or any trained assistance. The journey from remote mountainous villages to health centres is long and difficult. Village people don’t know the signs of pregnancy and labour going wrong and by the time they have decided to seek skilled help it is often too late. Volunteer Community Health Workers, who are meant to provide basic health care in villages, could advise them, if they were properly trained and appreciated, but most have returned to full-time farming. With our Afghan partner, Bakhtar Development Network (the health service provider in Balkh), we aim to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio by 2015, in the villages covered by the project. We will show that this can be done, without enormous cost, when outside help links up with villagers encouraged to devise their own solutions. We aim for 80% of women to give birth in health centres and, by outreach from health centres, to increase the number of women getting antenatal and postnatal care. The project will provide health education, work with villagers to develop transport (to reduce delays) and improve the service to women and babies (when they get to health centres). We are working with villagers from the bottom up, encouraging women to form self-help groups, and helping them to solve some of their own health problems. We have started working in 10 villages, but aim to extend to all 70 villages in the district. We plan to fill 90% of village Community Health Worker posts.The aim is for these workers to give out clean birth kits to 90% of women in the last three months of pregnancy. This will reduce rates of infection for those who don’t get to the health centres and their babies. We will teach women the basics of reducing risks before and during birth. Because the journey from the main health centre to the regional hospital is long and rocky, we will extend, convert and equip the building we have erected in the central village to serve as an operating theatre and recovery room to do Caesarian sections.  a) Capital costs for this - £21,000. b) Part-time salaries of the local manager and 2 medical staff and full-time salaries of 8 facilitators working in villages for one year - £26,500. c) Fuel and running costs for the second-hand 4WD vehicle - £2,500.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls