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SOUTH SUDAN / MIDWIVES (IWD)
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / MIDWIVES
TRT: 2:34
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC/NATS
DATELINE: 4, 5 MARCH 2012, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
4 MARCH, 2012, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Wide shot, antenatal Health Care centre at the Juba Teaching hospital
2. Wide shot, pregnant women seated
3. Med, shot, pregnant women
4. Med, shot, pregnant women
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elizabeth Yawa pregnant mother:
“In those days there were no facilities like this, we came and only receive immunization and they told us to eat well, that was all by then there was no antenatal care, like what we are receiving now.”
6. Wide shot, a class of midwifes training at the Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery
7. Med, shot, students in class
8. Close up, female student
9. Wide shot, students and teacher in class
10. Med, shot, female student listening
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rosemary KanyeMugambi, trainer, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“The world expects us to bring down the maternal mortality rate in Sudan (South Sudan) down at least by 75 percent. So being the first class of the Diploma midwives, you are going out very strongly and with very high expectation from the community that you must perform and the impact must be seen.”
5 MARCH, 2012, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
12. Med, shot, a mother delivering a baby
13, Med, shot, a mother delivered with the of midwives
13, Med, shot, a baby boy born and being put in a weighing scale
14, Wide shot, mother and new born baby
4 MARCH, 2012, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Petrolina Wawa Habib Said, Principal Juba College of Nursing and registered Midwives
“A death of a mother is a destruction of the family, because the father - strong as he is when the woman is not there the children he can manage and became disabled. So I felt that we should try as much as possible to preserve the life of women, so that the families remains strong and the children grow well.”
16. Wide shot, mother being examined
17. Close up, body temperature and pressure being tested
18. Close up, mother being examined
19. Med, shot, lifting a mother with care
Dozens of expecting women seeking antenatal and post-natal care line up everyday at the Juba Teaching Hospital, patiently waiting for advice on how they can carry their pregnancies to full-term with limited risks.
Many of them are young and have recently heard that the Juba Teaching Hospital offers good care during pregnancy.
This was not the case before independence, because the hospital and many others in the region and rural areas lacked in proper medical care.
This lack of care for pregnant women has resulted in South Sudan’s ranking as one of the highest rates of maternal deaths in the world. Available statistics indicate that one out of seven pregnant women die due to pregnancy-related causes and with less than 100 midwives for the entire country, health workers are severely lacking.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elizabeth Yawa pregnant mother:
“In those days there were no facilities like this, we came and only receive immunization and they told us to eat well, that was all by then there was no antenatal care, like what we are receiving now.”
But now, South Sudan’s Ministry of Health along with several organisations including UNFPA are working hard to tackle the problem through various midwife training programs which will see graduates sent to various states country-wide.
A joint initiative has successfully deployed the first group of eighteen International United Nations Volunteer (IUNV) Midwives. The program, called “Capacity Placement of International United Nations Volunteer Midwives Project in South Sudan” is implemented by the Ministry of Health of South Sudan with support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and funded by the Australian Government.
The Juba Teaching Hospital has benefitted through the Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery which is training midwives under a three-year Diploma course.
The first class of 17 midwives who are currently training at the Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery will be deployed throughout the region and rural areas, where they will help with the current crippling situation which has seen hundreds of women and children die during child-birth.
SOUNDBITE (English) Rosemary KanyeMugambi, trainer, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“The world expects us to bring down the maternal mortality rate in Sudan (South Sudan) down at least by 75 percent. So being the first class of the Diploma midwives, you are going out very strongly and with very high expectation from the community that you must perform and the impact must be seen.”
The training aimed at reducing maternal deaths, could also sustain the family which often breaks down after the mother dies.
SOUNDBITE (English) Petrolina Wawa Habib Said, Principal Juba College of Nursing and registered Midwives
“A death of a mother is a destruction of the family, because the father - strong as he is when the woman is not there the children he can manage and became disabled. So I felt that we should try as much as possible to preserve the life of women, so that the family remains strong and the children grow well.”
And as the world celebrates International Women’s Day, the hope is that in years to come, the women of South Sudan will no longer be faced with the challenges and dangers of delivery and a reduction of maternal deaths will empower women and the country towards a healthier future.
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