Nyanhok Baziel is 19 years old and a very young mother. After giving birth at home, she arrived at the health post in Zone D of the Nguenyyiel refugee camp, the CUAMM-run health post in the Gambella region of Ethiopia. Nyanhok had already been to the same health post three times for antenatal examinations but had not turned up for the fourth scheduled visit because she was too busy managing the household workload.
“The contractions started in the morning at 7am. I tried to reach the health post but was forced to stop at a house along the road,” Nyanhok said. With the help of a traditional midwife, Buay Tot, a 2.8 kg boy, was born at 12 noon, but immediately Nyanhok started bleeding heavily. It was only an hour later that she was able to get to the Zone D health post for help. Endale, the midwife on duty, immediately realised that Nyanhok was bleeding severely. The CUAMM team quickly intervened to assist and stabilise the young mother.
Postpartum haemorrhage is indeed the most common cause of maternal mortality, especially in the first 24 hours after delivery. For this reason, to prevent obstetric complications, it is essential to give birth in a health facility with the assistance of qualified personnel.
“I really thought I would not make it. I managed to survive thanks to the care I received at the CUAMM health post, and from what happened to me, I realised how important it is to be cared for during childbirth,” Nyanhok acknowledged with relief. “As soon as possible, I was supported with the breastfeeding and then transferred to the postnatal care unit to be carefully looked after during recovery. Buay underwent basic vaccinations and after 24 hours we were discharged, with the commitment to return to the health post for a check-up”.
Doctors with Africa CUAMM guarantees quality health care service in the health post in Zone D of the Nguenyyiel refugee camp, using qualified and dedicated health workers, with a special focus on the health of mothers and children. It does so, in collaboration with Cefa, in the framework of the project “Strengthening the resilience of South Sudanese refugees in Gambella through an integrated and sustainable approach, with special attention to the most vulnerable groups”, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The intervention aims to ensure essential health services in two health posts in two different refugee camps, Nguenyiel and Tierkidi. Despite the challenging security conditions of the context, efforts are being made to ensure the provision of essential drugs and medical equipment, the presence of qualified health workers, the strengthening of community outreach activities and support to the hospital referral system.
Overall in the two camps between May and August 2023, 12,209 patients accessed outpatient visits, 6,145 of them women. Of these, 4,278 were children under 5 years of age. Specifically, 7,724 outpatient visits were provided at the health post in Zone D of Nguenyyiel camp. Finally, 478 pregnant women had access to the first antenatal visit, 73% of them at Nguenyiel, and 59 women gave birth at the two health posts covered by the project, including 31 at the health post in Zone D.
