Mandera, Isiolo step up war against maternal deaths

A doctor in Papua New Guinea finds that involving men in family planning is the key to reducing maternal mortality.

The Nigerian state of Oyo has a modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) of 24%, which is the highest in the country compared to the national average of 10.8%. This can be attributed to family planning services brought to citizens through a fruitful partnership between government efforts and outside partners like nonprofit Marie Stopes International Organization of Nigeria (MSION). Since 2013 MSION has helped bring an influx of new family planning information and media outreach, improve clinic facilities and services, offer counseling for pre- and postnatal care, and much more.

Medical professionals travel to remote areas of Nigeria with little access to family planning or maternal health care to hand out resources such as condoms or birth control and to train villages' Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) on updated safe birth practices. The team, called the PeachAid Medical Initiative, has reached over 30,000 women and 400 TBAs through medical outreach to rural communities since 2015. The work at large is meant to address the high maternal death rate in Nigeria.

To combat high infant mortality rates, rural Louisiana invested money and resources on providing public health nurses, gave Medicaid-eligible pregnant women nurses to assist them through pregnancy and the first year after birth, also began promoting long-acting reversible contraception. In two years, the region halved its infant mortality rate.

Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) Clinic is taking a youth centered approach towards teaching reproductive health. Their methods, which include having youth days, hiring youth peer counselors, and providing private rooms for youth to discuss their sexual health, allow them to reach teenagers. “As a result, their uptake of contraception has increased.”

Compared with other developed countries, the United States has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy. However, Colorado has collaborated with foundations, private donors, and has taken advantage of Obamacare’s coverage to offer free long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) for several years. The program providing LARCs has contributed to a drop in the teenage abortion rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, and fewer children born in poverty, all while being a cost-saving measure for taxpayers.

A Buffalo, New York clinic provides a space for both abortions and natural births. In looking at the experiences as a continuum, rather than as juxtaposing sides, the hope is to change how people think about the birth experiences.

be artsy's Rato Baltin project uses culturally relevant education, menstrual kit distribution, and engages religious leaders to challenge discriminatory practices against those who menstruate. Since launching in 2017, the group has reached 80,000 people and distributed over 5,500 menstrual cups, while simultaneously helping shift perspectives around menstruating.

The local primary health center in Tayi, a new community in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger state, has helped normalize the discussion of family planning which includes topics such as primary health care delivery and contraception. The center provides on-site educational opportunities but has also partnered with religious leaders to especially help the conversation reach men.

As abortion laws become increasingly restrictive across the southern US, more and more grassroots organizations are working to ensure access to abortions is still available. There exists a network called National Network of Abortion Funds that financially supports access to abortions via dozens of funds across the country. Services offered to women include financial assistance for the procedure as well as transportation and childcare, assigned mentors who are readily available at all times, and assistance for women who are pregnant or mothering.