GIVING FISH TO THE VILLAGE ELDERS
.png)
The State of Maternal Health
According to the the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 130 million babies are born every year around the world. That’s about 356,000 per day.
Sadly, with all that new life comes a vast number of maternal deaths. About 830 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications every day.
About 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries, with more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In rural areas of Senegal, as many as 1 in 19 women will die in childbirth.
​
This devastating outcome is not only tragic for mom, but also for the babies who are born with no mother. Many will not live to see their first birthday. The risk of death before reaching the age of 5 is doubled if the mother doesn't survive childbirth. And the children who survive typically end up in unsafe or unhealthy situations that significantly affect the quality of their lives.
​
The Causes of Maternal Deaths
While the maternal mortality rate in Senegal has been declining over the past two decades, it remains a major area of concern. This is especially true in rural areas, where maternal deaths are disproportionately higher.
The majority of maternal deaths are due to complications during delivery that could have been prevented. Other causes include conditions that arise during pregnancy that go untreated, including iron-deficient anemia, malnutrition, and preeclampsia. Isolation and rejection in the community only add to the psychological distress these women face.
In rural areas, essential care for pregnant women is not available. Also, delivery often occurs without the presence of a skilled birth attendant: only 56% of births are attended in rural areas (as low as 30% for the poorest groups) compared to 90% in urban areas.
Proper medical care for women is desperately needed in rural areas of Senegal, and we at the H.E.L.P. Team aim to make this happen.
​
Hope for a Healthier Future
The building will consist of a dispensary, lodgement and the Maternity Clinic. It will also have a pharmacy for access to prescription medicine and will be run and managed by The H.E.L.P Team, the Mayor and the Ministry of Health Senegal to ensure continued success of discharge of services.
The H.E.L.P. Team has made it our primary mission to remedy this tragic situation. We have partnered with the mayor of Doumga Lao to develop a plan to build a much-needed maternal health clinic right in Doumga Lao.
In 2017, the mayor invited us to the area to meet and talk with the community members about their needs. It was wonderful to get to know the women on a personal level and to offer them hope. The first stone was put in place, and we immediately began our fundraising efforts for the project.
The planned Maternal and Child Health Clinic will provide the following services at a minimum:
​
-
Prenatal and postnatal care services
-
24 hours delivery services with emergency obstetrics transportation
-
Immunization
-
Treatment of water borne diseases (cholera, dysentery, typhoid) and malaria
-
Community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM)
-
Counselling on infant and young child feed
-
Contraceptive services
Doumga Lao is a rural area in North-East Senegal with a population of about 38,000. About 16,842 are women, 14,273 are men and 6,850 are children. The area is comprised of 27 villages and 73 small settlements. Doumga Lao currently has two small health posts that are extremely limited in their resources to provide basic care for residents.
As of now, women are forced to travel 51.8 kilometres (over 30 miles) to the nearest hospital to safely deliver their babies and receive health care for themselves and their newborns. This takes over 3 hours and most of the time the only method of travel is by donkey or horse and carriage. Travelling is extremely risky to their health and the health of their babies.
If they decide to make the journey for a better chance at survival, they must leave their homes for a few weeks. This poses great challenges to their community because women are the primary caregivers and are typically responsible for tending to the crops that provide the food their families depend on. For this reason, women often choose not to visit the health centre for proper medical care, facing a greater risk of mortality.
How You Can Get Involved
We are dedicated to raising the funds necessary to build the clinic that will ultimately reduce maternal mortality and improve the lives of so many women and children in this poor and underserved area of Senegal.
The H.E.L.P. Team will need to raise $150,000 in total to see the maternal health clinic project through. If you would like to help our cause, we would be so grateful to accept your kind donation. On-board 2 Web3.
​
Donate Now! To make an impact in the lives of the women and children in Doumga Lao.
Visit our donation page by clicking below...
​
​
​
The Help Team is a non-profit organization limited by guarantee.
Company registration 10368960
International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London EC3V 3NG
​
Contact us at: +(44) 800 678 5077
© 2023 by The H.E.L.P. Team