In October 2017 I was lucky enough to travel to rural Tanzania to visit with community midwives and the local women of the area who they care for. I was invited and hosted by Sound and Fair, a conservation organisation bringing fair trade community development and fresh economy to the area. Nanjirinji is a small village in the South East of the country. It is incredibly poor. I was welcomed with open arms by wonderful people who deserve (but sadly don't have) access to all the same standards of health care that we take for granted. I spent time with the midwives to try and understand some of the daily challenges they face, and I hope to work with my contacts back in the UK to try and raise funds to help improve the service. To be able to make childbirth safer, healthier and reduce risks for women is the aim here. Basic provisions such as iron supplements are not available even though these are supposed to be provided by the government. Anaemia, is closely linked to post birth haemorrhage which is one of the biggest killers of pregnant women in developing countries. Being enriched with iron during pregnancy can save a life and mean a baby can grow up to know its mother. This is just one of the many issues faced by rural pregnant women in developing countries. The following paragraphs will help you understand more about the Nanjirinji maternity service, and I hope you will want to donate £20 (or whatever you can afford) to help me help them. Thank you so much.

Nanjirinji Hospital and Midwifery Service Is a small poorly equipped and poorly staffed clinic located in the Kilwa District of South West Tanzania, servicing around 5000 women who live in the immediate and surrounding areas. It is staffed by a doctor, 2 dual qualified nurse midwives and a HIV specialist health advisor. There is an accountant and ambulance driver who also work at the hospital.

Pregnant and non-pregnant women using the service range between the ages of 15-41 on average although some women may be older. Women attend the clinic for antenatal check-ups, vaccinations, prophylactic drugs and to give birth. Postnatally, women attend the clinic with their babies and children for regular health and development checks. The women may have low or high risk pregnancies. Underlying conditions such as HIV or malaria are common and the hospital is not able to deliver acute or emergency care. If necessary the very sick or those requiring emergency medical assistance have to travel to the nearest large well facilitated hospitals located at Luangwa or Kilwa around 2-4 hours away on a dirt track. Nanjirinji Hospital is very basic and has a limited capacity to deliver care to the local community. It is poorly funded and cannot even provide the basic government care that has been promised to the women under the ‘Mama nam Toto’ program. Staff at Nanjirinji hospital are highly skilled and dedicated to the provision of good care to the service users, but they struggle to deliver this for the following reasons:

Lack of medicine supplies. (poor provision and timely replenishment from the government)

Lack of staff.

No paid holidays.

7 days a week working with one month off a year.

Dirty, broken and old equipment, some of which is not fit for purpose.

Poor basic infection control measures i.e. handwashing

Basic dilapidated buildings

Unreliable ambulance

Lack of documentation and useful record keeping

Lack of training updates.

No antenatal health education for women.

Poor or ineffective communication with government officials.

Raising funds could buy new equiptment, such as beds, trolleys scales, mattresses, drip stands, buckets, storage solutions, sonicaids, thermometers, glucometers, baby cots, or a resuscitation station.

Your help could also:

• Fund a position for a dedicated cleaner

• Renovation of the delivery room

• Repurposing of the storage room to become a second birthing room

• Renovation of antenatal clinic

• Funding ambulance repairs

• Improved access to water

• Training updates

• Antenatal education for local women

This is just for starters! I'll be returning to Nanjirinji in October 2018 with all your generously donated funds. I will share updates and show you how your money has been spent.

TBC…….