In about 15 percent of deliveries, an unpredictable complication occurs. That’s when emergency obstetric care (EmOC) becomes necessary. In the developed world, women have extensive access to EmOC – interventions like a cesarean section, or treatment for high blood pressure during pregnancy. But for women in developing countries, access to these kinds of services is very limited; either a suitable facility is too far away, or the nearby health facility doesn’t have the tools to provide this kind of care.
When a woman has complications during delivery and has no access to EmOC, she has a high risk of debilitating injuries, including obstetric fistula, and even death. The disability or loss of a mother affects not just her family but her community at large.
Since 2006, Direct Relief has focused on increasing access to life-saving emergency obstetric care for women in remote areas. Medical aid--equipment, supplies, and training--have been provided to partners in 13 countries so they can initiate or expand their EmOC services, ranging from basic to comprehensive. Some facilities have needed equipment to be able to perform assisted deliveries and surgeries, while others have needed entire surgical suites of equipment and supplies.
Recipients are chosen based on a high need in the area – a lack of other facilities available to provide this level of care, as well as a high maternal mortality rate. Countries that have received targeted EmOC support include Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Malawi, and Uganda.
In collaboration with the Fistula Foundation, Direct Relief constructed and outfitted an operating theater at Edna Adan University Hospital in Somaliland, which has become a premier care facility in that country since it was founded as a maternity hospital in 2002. The surgical suite supports a variety of obstetric procedures, including EmOC and fistula-repair surgery.
Direct Relief is expanding its EmOC support to 15 additional sites by 2016. With a particular focus on east Africa, Direct Relief is currently working with Rugarama Hospital in southwestern Uganda and with Pallisa Hospital in eastern Uganda to outfit and upgrade their surgical theaters.
Emergency obstetric care saves the lives of mothers and babies during complicated deliveries so that pregnancy can be a joyful time for women around the world, not a potential death sentence.