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GUINEA / MATERNAL HEALTH
STORY: GUINEA / MATERNAL HEALTH
TRT: 3.12
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5-9 MAY 2010
7 MAY 2010, KOYAMAH, GUINEA
1. Wide shot, people demonstrating, people riding motorbikes in the foreground, people holding banner at the back
2. Med shot, people walking again, demonstrating, holding political banners
6 MAY 2010, CONAKRY, GUINEA
3. Tilt down, malnourished babies sleeping
4. Pan left, malnourished babies
5. Pan right, exterior shot Donka hospital entrance
6. Med shot, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow with doctors in a ward
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mia Farrow, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador:
“On the bright side you have dedicated doctors and nurses who are really struggling to meet the need of very many children, the downside is that there are too many children for this facility.”
8. Med shot, doctor weighing malnourished baby in a scale, baby crying
9. Close up, baby crying in scale
10. Med shot, mothers outside the hospital wards
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Docteur Mamadou Cellou Balte, Pediatrician and head of Guinea National Institute for Children’s Health:
“We need extension, we need tools, because we are a reference hospital in the region. We also want to train new pediatricians so that they can create specialized unites in the hospitals of the region.”
7 MAY 2010, FERMESSADOU, GUINEA
12. Med shot, Mia Farrow and visiting the maternal ward in Fermessadou
13. Various shots, exterior of Fermessadou clinic
14. Various shots, interior of Fermessadou clinic
8 MAY 2010, KISSIDOUGOU, GUINEA
15. Med shot, Mia Farrow visiting the maternal ward of the Kissidougou’s hospital
16. Med shot, Mothers waiting for care in Kissidougou’s hospital
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Julien Harneis, UNICEF’s Representative in Guinea :
“It’s a bigger problem and it’s very complicated to resolve. We can’t continue to be like this forever, whereby UNICEF is covering these issues, the government has to step in, but that requires a reform of the health service.”
7 MAY 2010, FERMESSADOU, GUINEA
18. Pan right, Mia Farrow with local leaders at hospital.
19. Pan left, exterior of Fermessadou hospital
20. Close up, mothers with health check-up booklets.
21. Med shot, Mia Farrow with baby in her arms
22. Med shot, mothers with their babies outside hospital
23. Various shots, motorcycle ambulance
The current transition in Guinea presents an opportunity to invest in maternal and child health.
Repeated shocks since 2006 have weakened basic services and lack of investments led to the resurgence of childhood killer diseases like polio, tetanus and measles.
In Guinea, malnutrition is on the rise, and hospitals are overcrowded.
On recent visit to the country, UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow observed the evident need for sustained investment to ensure every child can receive life-saving care.
SOUNDBITE (English) Mia Farrow, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador:
“On the bright side you have dedicated doctors and nurses who are really struggling to meet the need of very many children, the downside is that there are too many children for this facility.”
In the capital city Conakry, the Donka hospital runs at twice its capacity. More than 60 children are treated for severe malnutrition. But only 30 beds are available, which leaves no options for their mothers but to sleep on the floor outside or in the corridors.
SOUNDBITE (French) Docteur Mamadou Cellou Balte, Pediatrician and head of Guinea National Institute for Children’s Health:
“We need extension; we need tools, because we are a reference hospital in the region. We also want to train new paediatricians so that they can create specialized unites in the hospitals of the region.”
In rural Guinea, Mia Farrow witnessed first-hand the barriers to access health care. In the village of Fermessadou, in Forest Guinea, the shelves of this health center are empty, and the village lacks crucial tools to provide life-saving care.
But there are signs of hope. Creative solutions and the availability of resources can make the difference between life and death.
With support from UNICEF, pregnant women now have access to free caesareans. In this hospital in Kissidougou, doctors practice 30 operations every month. For women, this means less risk to die while giving birth.
SOUNDBITE (English) Julien Harneis, UNICEF's Representative in Guinea:
“It’s a bigger problem and it’s very complicated to resolve. We can’t continue to be like this forever, whereby UNICEF is covering these issues, the government has to step in, but that requires a reform of the health service.”
In Fermessadou, UNICEF and its partners helped the members of the community to set up a mutual savings insurance system called MURIGA.
For five dollars a year, pregnant women have access to specialized care during their pregnancy and to assistance during the delivery.
SOUNDBITE (French) Marie Sia Yombono, Coordinatrice NGO Agence humanitaire pour le d’veloppement:
“MURIGA helps refer the women to the regional hospital for free, women who before this system, would have died because of the lack of money to afford going to the hospital.”
MURIGA is operational in 12 villages around Fermessadou. UNICEF aims to scale up the project nationwide and to extend it to children under five. The agency is also providing health centers with a ‘moto-ambulance’ to transport pregnant women in need of urgent obstetric care.
With adequate investment and support, big steps could be made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing child and maternal mortality in Guinea.
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