Why experts fear a rise in maternal deaths in Haiti
Women among the most affected in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew
BEAUMONT, Haiti — Weeks after Haitian medical staff delivered babies while standing in water with flashlights during one of the strongest Caribbean storms in nearly a decade, all seven of the main health facilities in town of Beaumont remain without water, power, equipment or adequate staff.
Hurricane Matthew’s devastation to hospitals has prompted fears of an increase in Haiti’s high maternal mortality rate, which was 359 per 100,000 births in 2015, according to The World Bank. The number had been improving due to a rise in hospital births.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 13,650 women are due to give birth in the next three months, and the conditions are not favourable. “People will now stay in their communities to give birth,” Vavita Leblanc, reproductive health program manager of the United Nations Population Fund in Haiti, told the U.K.’s Guardian. “It will set us back a decade.”
Christian Children’s Fund of Canada’s (CCFC) supports safe births for mothers and children. In fact, a recent project in Ethiopia resulted in more than 20,700 babies being safely delivered by skilled professionals. To donate online to CCFC and help Haiti’s recovery process, visit ccfcanada.ca/haiti-hurricane-matthew.
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About Christian Children's Fund of Canada:
Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC) is a child-focused international development organization and a member of ChildFund Alliance. For more than 50 years, CCFC has been helping children and families of all faiths move from poverty to self-reliance. CCFC supports children and communities in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nicaragua and Paraguay. Currently, CCFC has almost 50,000 children sponsored, benefiting nearly 400,000 people around the world.