Tag: reproductive health
-
Oct 20, 2010
Week Two in Ethiopia, Another Woman Saved
Things might have turned out differently had Shashitu delivered a month earlier. Things might have turned out much worse. We didn’t get the chance to meet Shashitu, a 28-year-old Ethiopian woman who lives in Genssa Kebele, a rural area about 60 miles from Bahir Dar, the closest city in the Northwest region of Ethiopia. But our Ethiopian IntraHealth co-workers told us about her. Like many girls and young women in Ethiopia, Shashitu married young. She had her first baby by cesarean when she was 18. Three weeks ago, Shashitu was nearing the end of her second pregnancy. Because she delivered her first child by cesarean, she made the long trip to Bahir Dar to a private clinic for a check-up. For reasons that are not clear, the clinic staff told her to come back in ten days, but before the week was out, Shashitu had gone into labor. Shashitu knew Bahir Dar was too far away, so she went instead to the Yenak Health Center, a clinic near her home. After examining her, the clinic staff knew that Shashitu needed emergency care they were not equipped to provide. So they did the only thing they could: referred her to the Dangla Health Center, another 15 miles away. By then, it... Read More » -
May 18, 2010
Reflections from a Family Planning Conference in Nairobi
The Africa Exchange Meeting of the Expanding Services Delivery Project (ESD) held last week in Nairobi offered opportunities for learning about promising inroads in increasing access to reproductive health and family planning. The workshop included representatives from throughout Africa and international organizations. As Senior Technical Advisor for IntraHealth, (we are partners on the ESD project which is led by Pathfinder International) some of the highlights I found noteworthy include: The message of health timing and spacing of pregnancy links family planning with maternal and child health which everyone supports. As keynote speaker Khama Rogo, World Bank health-sector specialist and IntraHealth Board member, noted, “Family planning is to maternal health what immunizations are to child health.” This message resonates with policymakers and conservative communities that are sometime less enthusiastic about the term family planning. We learned that in Northern Nigeria organizations are able to promote this message with religious leaders who in turn help spread the word among the community. In Northern Kenya, another traditional Muslim community,... Read More »
