Maternal Health Crises in Liberia

Summary

Although peace has been established in Liberia for over 7 years, the maternal mortality rate has almost doubled. Liberia has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates. Merlin has been in Liberia since 1997. During the civil war, it provided essential medical aid and now, it is providing vital care to mothers and children to address the maternal mortality crisis in the country. Your support can enable women and children to have access to life saving maternal health care.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

In Liberia, four women die every day as a result of pregnancy-related causes, while 15 infants die at childbirth. Liberia has only recently emerged from one of the bloodiest civil wars in modern history. Some 250,000 died in the conflict and hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes. Liberia’s mothers and children suffered the most. The maternal mortality rate there is among the highest in the world and the death rate for under-5s is 14 per cent.

How will this project solve this problem?

Merlin reaches over 1 million people through hospitals and clinics. The best way to address maternal mortality is to provide access to good health care and trained community midwives to mothers and children. Since 1997, Merlin has been supporting hospitals, birthing centers, and midwife training facilities in Liberia.

Potential Long Term Impact

In Liberia, it is through access to health care and trained midwives in each community that enable women to have safe births and children to have healthy lives. Merlin’s contribution to community health care, education and training is vital to Liberia’s long term, sustainable recovery.

Project Message

I stayed through the hard war to help my people...6 years on, we are still short of health workers. When I was having my last child I nearly bled to death, I had to tell the attending lady what to do.
- Mama Zeena, Midwife Training Coordinator, Liberia

Resources