In the southern regions of Malawi, expectant mothers face difficulties in accessing maternity clinics for antenatal appointments, postnatal checkups, and even deliveries. Public transport is often too expensive for expectant mothers, and runs within a limited time frame. Imagine having to wait for a bus whilst in an emergency situation, fearful that you may give birth right there on the side of the road?
Mothers in financial difficulty often walk long distances as a result, in order to attend the appointments they need both during and after their pregnancy. Often, they are in conditions when they are most at risk to miscarry, and as a result, some women resort to visiting traditional birthing assistants instead, and avoid healthcare clinics due to the difficulty it takes to access them. This often results in birthing complications, which leads to avoidable and preventable death of both mothers and newborn babies.
At Doctors Worldwide, we believe that access to quality healthcare is not a privilege, it is a human right, and we work towards making that a reality for the most vulnerable communities. The situation in rural areas of Malawi for expectant and new mothers is critical. No-one should have to travel up to 9km to reach a maternity clinic to receive the care they need, let alone pregnant mothers at risk of losing their baby due to the strenuous and difficult exercise they have no choice but to undertake.
Our upcoming Ambu-bike project hopes to utilise volunteer community members as well as locally made bikes to build an ambulance-like transport network throughout the rural areas of Mangochi, Malawi. Doctors Worldwide will pay for the materials needed, as well as oversee the training of Ambu-bike cyclics in a bid to increase local access to maternity clinics. Your support will therefore reduce maternal mortality rates and complications, as well as increase the uptake of mother and baby health checks.
In 2020, through our maternal care projects, 403 babies were safely delivered in Malawi as a result of your donations. With the introduction of ambu-bikes, you could save/change even more lives this winter. Make every penny count. Support our project today.
#DWWMakeItCount: https://bit.ly/3bcDsHo
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