Pregnancy and childbirth are one of the most difficult experiences that any woman endures. But for women living in refugee camps, the birth of a child can be a truly traumatic experience. After being forced to flee their homes, they face a frightful and uncertain future, as they are often left with no choice but to give birth without medical attention. Global One is providing life-saving resources to Syrian mothers and babies in Lebanon through our Box for Life.
41% of Syrian refugee households in Lebanon have pregnant or new mother. Without specialised maternal and neo-natal care, these mothers and their babies will face many health complications, in addition to the high healthcare costs and long distances to travel just to see a midwife or doctor. The anxiety of childbirth in these situations starts from pregnancy and can often become worse once the baby is born.
Our Box for Life will provide the essentials that both mothers and new babies need for a healthy start, which includes nutritional and oral rehydration supplements, reusable nappies, breastfeeding supplements, sanitary pads and an insect net. Each box also doubles up as a cot. Our sustainable approach means we will also be training local women to become midwives and distribute manuals on how to produce reusable nappies to prevent health complications among newborns in camps.
This project is about empowering communities to build resilience from within. Therefore, mothers and newborns will be supported by women from their own communities who will be specially trained as midwives, able to identify risks and complications early on and deliver community outreach programmes with weekly pre-natal and post-natal sessions. These incredible women will educate pregnant and new mothers on maternal and newborn health issues whilst providing much needed psychosocial support.
