Healthcare
One woman dies every minute from in pregnancy and childbirth, each year more than 536,000 women die due to complications and 10 million more suffer debilitating illnesses and lifelong disabilities. The vast majority of maternal deaths are avoidable when women have access to vital health care before, during and after childbirth.
The State of the World’s Mothers 2006 report reveals that of more than 10 million children under the age of 5 who die each year in the developing world, about 1 in 5, (an estimated 2 million babies) die within the first 24 hours of life.
Through our work in the provision of water and sanitation to over 80 communities we were made acutely aware of the plight of pregnant and nursing mothers in West Africa.
With our work with the local communities in the provision of water, we were witnessing unimaginable tragedies, such as women dying from anaemia in pregnancy, countless women who have lost babies and suffered irreversible injuries during childbirth. In fact according to research by Save the Children, 73% of pregnant women suffer from anaemia in The Gambia alone.
So we set aboout building a new Antenatal Clinic which is situated in Tallinding Kunjang, in the district of Serrekunda in The Gambia. It will service a population of over 85,000. It is the only one in the local area of its kind in offering the highest standards of care to pregnant and nursing women.
