Author: WHES

Maternal deaths focus harsh light on Uganda

ARUA, Uganda — Jennifer Anguko was slowly bleeding to death right in the maternity ward of a major public hospital. Only a lone midwife was on duty, the hospital later admitted, and no doctor examined her for 12 hours. An obstetrician who investigated the case said Ms. Anguko, the mother of three young children, had arrived in time to be saved.

Kenya: When a cow is part of the family

n his village, Kiliwehiri in northeastern Kenya, Abdullah Mohamed is known as “that mentally disturbed man”.

“It is difficult to be normal after you have watched your entire life’s savings get wiped out before your eyes,” said Ibrahim Abdi, assistant chief of the village. “We are Somalis, we look after each other,” explained Abdi, so the village shares their rations with Mohamed’s family.

Somalis flee famine along ‘roads of death’

DOLO, Somalia — The displaced first began coming through Dolo, just a few miles from the Ethiopian border, in March. Now, the trickle has become a flood. The new arrivals clutch small bags of clothes and other meager possessions. Their children are thin, some emaciated. Almost every child appears small for his or her age. But they are the fortunate ones: They have survived their journeys, at least for now.

UN declares famine in parts of Somalia: 3.7 million people ‘now in crisis’ and more than 10 million affected by worst drought in decades

The United Nations has declared a state of famine in some parts of southern Somalia where the worst drought in over half a century is already being blamed for thousands of deaths.

The announcement on Wednesday signals the need for more aid to the worst affected regions of Southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle.

Sierra Leone government eliminates medical fees for children and pregnant women, resulting in huge increase in patients

WATERLOO, Sierra Leone — The paramedic’s eyes were bloodshot, his features drawn. Pregnant women jammed into the darkened concrete bunker, just as they had yesterday and would tomorrow. The increase in patients had been fivefold, or tenfold. The exhausted paramedic had lost count in a blur of uninterrupted examinations and deliveries.