As part of Direct Relief’s ongoing commitment to Maternal and Child Health, today Direct Relief helped inaugurate and reopen the maternity wards at four different hospitals in Haiti with equipment and supplies sent down over the past few months.  In total, eight hospitals will be provided with the incentive kits, medications, and equipment needed to upgrade to Emergency Obstetric Care Centers. These facilities serve a total population of over 500,000 people including 150,000 women of childbearing age.

Most of the patients seeking care at these facilities cannot afford to pay for health services and as funding for these facilities shrinks, so do the facility’s resources.  We hope that the significant upgrades to the maternal care facilities will encourage more women to come to the hospital for pre-natal visits and delivery, reducing the chances of birth complications and mortality.