Just in time
When Asia and Aitcha’s mother died just a week after they were born, it was uncertain if the baby twins would survive. But your support enabled them to receive life-saving treatment at the Guinebor II Hospital.
Asia and Aitcha were left in the care of Fatime, their grandmother. Fatime is a widow and a refugee from Central African Republic, and she was already struggling to care for nine other children with limited resources. A midwife gave Fatime two boxes of milk formula for the twins, but one box was stolen. All she had left to give Asia and Aitcha was water.
The girls were in an extremely critical condition when Fatime heard about the malnutrition program at Guinebor II Hospital. She took the twins and made the gruelling journey, 120 miles by bus, from Lake Chad to the hospital.
The baby girls were vomiting and diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition when they arrived, and were promptly admitted for critical care. The treatment they received saved their lives.
Asia and Aitcha are now recovering well. They will return to Lake Chad once they reach their target weight.
Preventing avoidable deaths in child birth
Stories like Asia and Aitcha’s are not unusual in Chad. The country has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, leaving thousands of children without a mother every year.
Most of these deaths are preventable if mothers have access to skilled healthcare professionals throughout pregnancy, and during and after childbirth. But many simply can’t afford this type of care.
Thanks to your support, MAI is able to help keep maternity care at the Guinebor II hospital affordable, even for the poorest expectant mother. Since a programme started for affordable care for pregnant mothers and malnourished children in 2021, mothers choosing to give birth at the Guinebor II hospital has increased by 36%. Last year, the maternity team saved the lives of over 200 mothers with high risk pregnancies.
A new ward in the hospital is also enabling pregnant women and new mothers to receive vital treatment. The new 20-bed women’s ward was opened to patients in July 2023, with nine beds reserved for sick antenatal and postpartum patients. Over 700 women have been admitted so far.
Christy Harrison, a nurse-midwife at the Guinebor II hospital, says, “Thank you very much for the support you give. It is having as direct impact here on the lives of women and children in Chad.”
