Lunch would have to wait.
Midwife Pauline Mukabasinga was just about ready to enjoy her midday meal on Monday, February 6, when a nurse she worked with at Kabarore Health Center called for her assistance. It was urgent.
Preventable childhood diseases are a major national health concern throughout Pakistan, where just slightly more than half of all children are fully immunized. Nowhere is the occurrence of measles, pneumonia and hepatitis B—to name just a few of the common illnesses—more glaring than in remote villages.
In a chilly postnatal ward at the Ambohidroa District Hospital, Mamy Rasoahariniaina wrapped her day-old son in a cotton cloth. She added a woolen hat, swaddled her newborn in a blanket and held him close in a warm embrace.
Every day 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Helena’s story shows us it doesn’t have to be this way.
