To survive in the remote areas of Afghanistan is hard. To survive childbirth here is even harder.
For mother and child, the risks are high and the chance of survival is low. With the exception of Sierra Leone, more mothers die in Afghanistan giving birth than anywhere else. For every 10 babies, at least one will die in childbirth . When the average family has seven to 10 children, this heartbreak is a reality for most parents.
Sediqa is one woman who knows this pain well. She has already seen two of her babies die during long and obstructed labours. Her most recent pregnancy could easily have also ended in tragedy without the Merlin/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) mobile health team vehicle that came to Sediqa’s aid when she started experiencing complications during labour.
She was brought straight to the Shahr-e-Bozorg Emergency Obstetric Care centre where a Merlin obstetrician and midwives found her in shock. They took immediate action, performing an emergency caesarian to save her and her baby.
In Sediqa’s home of Shorak village, there are no health facilities for the community. To walk to the nearest health centre takes more than four hours through insecure and hostile terrain. However, the Merlin mobile health team has managed to access this isolated village and is providing services ranging from ante and pre-natal care to vaccinations and referrals.
Qumri is a 30 year old mother who has already seen the death of two of her children, and was determined not to witness a third. She was transported to the Emergency Obstetric Care centre with a ruptured membrane and massive blood loss, and was close to death upon arrival. Again, the health workers here set to work immediately and after a successful operation, both Qumri and her baby survived.
“I am very happy because now we have the opportunity to have ambulances and emergency health care for pregnant women, as well as free reproductive health services,” she said. “A few women lost their lives and babies before the availability of reproductive health services here in my village.”
Badakhshan province where Qumri and Sediqa live has the second highest rate of maternal mortality in the world. Clinics like this, along with the combined efforts of Merlin and UNFPA, are crucial to tackle these shocking statistics and increase women’s chances of surviving childbirth, despite all the odds.
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