Visiting Malawi
Every Mother Counts staff arrives in Malawi this week, a country with tons of potential to dramatically improve the way maternal health is delivered to its citizens.
When Clancy McCarty (EMC’s Director of Special Projects and Production) and Jessica Bowers (our Portfolio Director) touched ground in Malawi this week, they were met by pounding rain. But that hasn’t dampened their enthusiam. We’ve been really excited about their two-country, two-week visit to Africa to check in on some existing grants and learn more about how they’re faring. We’ve been to Uganda several times, but it’s our first trip to Malawi, a country with tons of potential to dramatically improve the way maternal health is delivered to its citizens.
Malawi is currently led by one of the most inspiring women we know, Her Excellency, Dr. Joyce Banda. Banda, Malawi’s first female president, took office in 2012. Forbes magazine named her the most powerful African in 2012. She’s worked in education, was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a Member of Parliament and Minister for Gender, Children’s Affairs and Community Services and she’s a longtime activist for women’s rights. Her Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood is making improvement of working conditions for nurses and midwives and expanding electricity to clinics and hospitals across Malawi a top priority.
Banda and her colleagues have a lot to accomplish because Malawi is facing tremendous challenges in terms of population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. With a population approaching 17 million, women in Malawi have on average more than five children apiece and only 46% have access to contraception. With 460 deaths for every 100,000 live births, and 77 infant deaths for every 1000 born, Malawi’s maternal mortality rate (1 in 36) makes it among the worst places on earth for women to give birth. In addition, almost 11 percent of the population is living with HIV/AIDS, a disease that kills 45,600 people in Malawi every year.
Malawi ranks among the world’s most densely populated and least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural with about 80% of the population living in rural areas.
We’re teaming up with Dr. Laura Stachel and We Care Solar to help move Dr. Banda’s initiative forward by providing much-needed electricity to health centers in Malawi. Forty rural clinics are being outfitted with “Solar Suitcases” equipped with fetal Dopplers that provide long-term high-efficiency LED lighting, a universal mobile phone charger, headlamp, a battery charger, fetal monitor, and outlets for 12V DC devices. Health workers will now be able to provide adequate emergency obstetric and surgical care, particularly at night; charge essential medical equipment; computers, and mobile phones; as well as accurately monitor fetal heart rates to identify complications early.
Check back later this week to learn more about our work in Malawi and for posts from the field provided by Clancy and Jessica.
