Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso—With grit, tenacity, just $200,000 in startup funding and a dynamic team of family planning (FP) trainers, an effort to provide women in Burkina Faso with access to long-acting FP immediately following childbirth has succeeded beyond all expectations. The success of that initiative, carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH), has leveraged additional resources from UNFPA and other donors to scale up the availability of postpartum family planning (PPFP) services and access to the IUD in the immediate postpartum period, broadening access to FP even more widely in the West African country. Since April 2013, more than 1,600 Burkinabé women have adopted a PPIUD through this initiative.
Where women and families live should not determine if they live—this is the philosophy driving Jhpiego’s work in 14 countries to defeat malaria, a disease that impacts millions, primarily in low-income countries. Pregnant women and children under five years old are particularly vulnerable to malaria because of their compromised immune systems. Malaria in pregnancy often contributes to dangerous health consequences for the mother and her unborn baby, including severe maternal anemia, low birth weight and even death. For children under five, malaria remains the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa.
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire—A dozen women are gathered in a spacious, first-floor room at Marcory Hospital one Tuesday, listening to a doctor and midwife explain the risks of cervical cancer and the screening services available at this city health facility. Seated among them is Irene, an HIV-positive mother who has returned to Marcory for her annual cervical cancer screening.
