{"id":218227,"date":"2022-03-03T08:35:57","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T06:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/maternal-and-reproductive-healthcare-crisis-in-ethiopia?lang=en"},"modified":"2022-03-03T08:35:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T06:35:57","slug":"maternal-and-reproductive-health-care-crisis-in-ethiopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/maternal-and-reproductive-health-care-crisis-in-ethiopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Maternal and Reproductive Health-care Crisis in Ethiopia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"image_wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/thumb\/9100ade23cf9f07\/600\/418\" alt=\"United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)\" \/><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>I was discharged from the health facility after the stillbirth of my baby without any medication or treatment. I have been bleeding ever since,&rdquo; said Asnaketch, sitting in her tent at Haylota IDP (internally displaced persons) site in Konso, a zone in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples&rsquo; Region (SNNPR).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Asnaketch, 25, had already lost her first baby after ethnic conflict broke out in their village, Gerchi, in Konso zone. &ldquo;The whole village was burnt to the ground. When the clashes erupted, we had to move here,&rdquo; says Asnaketch, in visible pain. &ldquo;I lost my first son due to a complication when we were fleeing.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">The most recent conflict in the area, in November 2020, killed dozens of civilians and displaced over 100,000 people. Across the region, nearly&nbsp;<a data-uw-pdf-br=\"2\" data-uw-pdf-doc=\"\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/sites\/reliefweb.int\/files\/resources\/EthiopiaCCCM_Dashboard_June2021.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">230,000 internally displaced people<\/a>&nbsp;live in makeshift and sub-standard camps with limited access to basic services and life-saving health care.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">The nearest health facility is a grueling two-hour trek from the Haylota IDP camp through mountainous terrain. &ldquo;They carried me on a wooden stretcher all the way,&rdquo; Asnaketch recalled. &ldquo;I knew something was wrong with my baby.&rdquo; &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\"><strong><span data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Women and newborns at severe risk<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Reproductive health services in the SNNPR were already over-stretched before the conflict-induced crisis,&nbsp;which put&nbsp;<a data-uw-pdf-br=\"2\" data-uw-pdf-doc=\"\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/ethiopia.unfpa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resource-pdf\/unfpa_ethiopia_hrp_2021-2022.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">more than 2 million people in need<\/a>&nbsp;of humanitarian assistance. Health services were hit with a serious shortage of service providers, lack of supplies and equipment and damage to facilities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Like Asnaketch, many families have mourned deaths in the camp. &ldquo;More women have lost their babies in the last months,&rdquo; said an official at the Haylota IDP site, whose identity is concealed for protection. &ldquo;This is an enormous yet overlooked tragedy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">&ldquo;Ensuring basic emergency obstetric and newborn care is a challenge. We can&rsquo;t provide assisted vaginal delivery either. There is no medication, equipment, or even mattresses,&rdquo; said the manager of Segen Health Centre in Segen Town during a&nbsp;<a data-uw-pdf-br=\"2\" data-uw-pdf-doc=\"\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/sites\/reliefweb.int\/files\/resources\/konso_rapid_assessment_report_f.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rapid assessment<\/a>&nbsp;conducted by UNFPA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Despite the critical importance of antenatal and postnatal care services in reducing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, services are minimal or non-existent as a result of the conflict, placing mothers and newborns at grave risk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\"><strong><span data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Thousands of women and girls in need of maternal and reproductive health care support<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Across SNNPR, of the more than 110,000 pregnant women, nearly 17,000 are&nbsp;<a data-uw-pdf-br=\"2\" data-uw-pdf-doc=\"\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/ethiopia.unfpa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resource-pdf\/unfpa_ethiopia_hrp_2021-2022.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">estimated<\/a>&nbsp;to experience some type of obstetric complication with potentially deadly consequences. More than 55,000 women and girls are expected to seek care related to sexual violence.<\/p>\n<p data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">In 2021, UNFPA supported 17 health facilities with emergency reproductive health kits, capacity-development training for medical staff and two ambulances to provide a more rapid response to manage obstetric complications in conflict-affected Gedeo zone in SNNPR and West Guji zone in Oromia region. In addition, UNFPA established centres and adolescent and youth corners to provide youth-friendly integrated sexual and reproductive health services.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-uw-rm-sr=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\">Still, greater support is needed to respond to the urgent needs of women and girls affected by conflict- and climate-related crises. The&nbsp;<a data-uw-rm-brl=\"false\" data-uw-rm-sr=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/HAO2022-appeal\">UNFPA Humanitarian Response appeal of $20 million<\/a>&nbsp;will help strengthen the health system and build back capacities in maternal and reproductive health services in SNNPR and seven other regions through the end of the year.&nbsp;<br data-uw-rm-sr=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" \/><br \/>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;<br data-uw-rm-sr=\"\" data-uw-styling-context=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" \/><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).<\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"well well-sm\"><b>Media files<\/b><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/6456b5cf2017b4d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/6456b5cf2017b4d\" alt=\"United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)\" style=\"max-width:500px\" \/><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/download\/6456b5cf2017b4d\">Download logo<\/a><\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/\">Source: Africa Newsroom &#8211; APO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was discharged from the health facility after the stillbirth of my baby without any medication or treatment. I have been bleeding ever since,&rdquo; said Asnaketch, sitting in her tent at Haylota IDP (internally displaced persons) site in Konso, a zone in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples&rsquo; Region (SNNPR).&nbsp; Asnaketch, 25, had already lost her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":218228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[4585],"class_list":{"0":"post-218227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-apo","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/maternal-and-reproductive-health-care-crisis-in-ethiopia.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}