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Africa

Meet Pandora Hardtman

When Jhpiego’s new chief nursing and midwifery officer reminisces about her earliest influences, a kindly, senior midwife comes to mind.   Her name was Iris, says Dr. Pandora Hardtman. She wore a blue uniform.   Navy blue, Hardtman clarifies. Dark and stark. Not like the almost iridescent iris shade of dress (and matching lipstick) that Hardtman happens to be wearing today during a Zoom meet-and-greet with Jhpiego colleagues.   And not like the shimmering turquoise of the sea that surrounds the pink sand island of Bermuda where midwives like Iris were a mainstay in bustling health department offices, full of people seeking

When Competent Midwives Lead, Women and Babies Survive

Miswaki Village, Tanzania—When her water broke, Helena Paschal was alone at home. Although her due date was several weeks away, she knew the labor was real. “I felt a sharp pain around my waist. I sensed the baby was coming,” she recalled. There was no time to call a neighbor or do anything but just

Community Health Workers Provide Needed Health Services in Cameroon

Mahelet Ritha, affectionately known as Maa-Ritha, is a community health worker (CHW) from Bongahele village in the South region of Cameroon. She is proud to be part of a network of CHWs bringing health care services directly to people in their communities, which are often far from a health facility. Maa-Ritha and her fellow CHWs