Supporting good health & well-being for women and children
Courtesy photos.
SANTA BARBARA — The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3, Good Health and Well-Being, highlights midwives as crucial to reducing childhood mortality and improving maternal health, especially in developing regions and remote areas where hospitals and clinics may not be available. Today, the International Day of the Midwife, local nonprofit Unite to Light seeks to highlight the important work of the midwives in Somaliland.
In Somaliland, a small country in eastern Africa, one in 12 women will die from pregnancy related causes. Armed conflict killed or forced the majority of health care workers to flee the country, leading to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. In response, Edna Adan – former first lady, UN diplomat, and Foreign Minister of Somaliland – built the non-profit Edna Adan University Hospital (EAUH) in 2002. EAUH is a teaching hospital that trains doctors, nurses, midwives, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists.
Edna Adan.
“Ensuring that midwives are trained and supported in the rural regions of Somaliland is one of the major emphases at our hospital,” says Adan. A midwife typically assists with 150-200 births per year, while some may deliver as many as 400 babies a year. Their impact is significant in a country where a skilled professional attends only 10% of births. Adan further noted: “As the number of trained midwives has increased, the number of mothers who die due to maternity related issues has decreased. However, the maternal mortality rate is still unacceptably high.”
Unite to Light honors the work of Ms. Adan and the EAUH and seeks to provide these midwives with the tools they need to perform their work. Megan Birney, President of Unite to Light: “Most of the rural areas in Somaliland do not have electricity. We want to provide durable, efficient, solar powered lights to each of the 200 EAUH graduating midwives so that they can better aid their communities.”
To support midwives and send solar lights to EAUH, Unite to Light is accepting donations online. For every $10 raised, one light will go to EAUH: http://www.unitetolight.org/Donate/EdnaAdan
For more information about Unite to Light, please visit www.unitetolight.org, on Twitter and Instagram @UnitetoLight and on Facebook.com/UnitetoLight.