Hiwot was 7-months pregnant when conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia forced her and her husband to flee to the nearby state of Amhara. The situation in Ethiopia has worsened drastically in the months since November 2020. Thousands of people have been killed and 2 million people like Hiwot have fled their homes for safety elsewhere.
Just $15 will provide three pregnant women like Hiwot with an emergency birth kit, which has all of the essentials for a safe childbirth, even without a health care professional.
Hiwot's main priority was her safety and the safety of her baby. Now, Hiwot and her husband are living with neighbors from Tigray in a camp for displaced people. UNFPA midwives are in the camp providing prenatal care, safe delivery care, and family planning. Hiwot has received a UNFPA emergency birth kit to ensure that she and her baby survive childbirth.
You can supply a rural health clinic with the medications and equipment it needs to provide pregnant women, including migrating women, with prenatal and safe delivery care, even if they experience complications for $150.
The trauma has impacted Hiwot greatly. “I have nightmares,” she said, “about how will I keep the baby alive with no income and living in such difficult conditions.”
But thanks to supporters like you, Hiwot won't have to worry about giving birth. Your contribution of $50 provides 10 women with emergency birth kits, containing soap, a razor, a tarp, and other crucial supplies for childbirth.
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More than 33,000 people have fled conflict in Ethiopida for nearby Sudan. Most of these refugees are women and children, with violence concentrated among men. One woman said, "I have seen men are slaughtered in front of my own eyes. I cannot forget that. I ran from home when the gunfire was going off. I still don’t know where my father and brothers are.”
The refugees are moving to Sudan just a few months after Sudan experienced the worst flooding of the past several decades. UNFPA is working to meet the reproductive health needs both of refugees and of those affected by the floods.
Conflict and natural disasters don't stop women from giving birth. Your gift of $15 provides three emergency birthing kits, so women can safely deliver their baby even in a humanitarian crisis.
One Ethiopian refugee lost her baby at 9 months when she couldn't reach a health facility in time. No woman should have to endure such hardship. UNFPA's work includes referring women to facilities that can manage obstetric emergencies. Many times, these women need a Caesarean section to save their life and the life of their baby.
$150 provides a rural clinic with the medicines and equipment it needs to safely manage obstetric emergencies.
UNFPA estimates that there are at least 700 pregnant Ethiopian refugee women and 20,000 pregnant Sudanese women in need of lifesaving reproductive health care. You can be there, for every woman and baby.
Your contirbution of $25 provides one woman with the hygiene supplies she needs to care for herself and her baby for the first six months of life. You can provide this healthy start.
In Haiti, pregnant women are scared of going out to get the care they need.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left confusion, misinformation, fear, and death in its wake. UNFPA has been working to dispel the rumors and ensure that everyone is safe, including the most vulnerable populations like pregnant women.
Frantzia, who is 4 months pregnant, said, "My fear of coronavirus has gradually disappeared after talking to a midwife who came to my neighbourhood to show me how to adopt prevention measures before coming to the hospital."
Now, Frantzia feels empowered to get the prenatal screenings she needs to have a safe pregnancy and delivery. For as little as $10, you can provide two women like Frantzia with delivery kits containing everything needed to give birth safely.
Healthcare staff in Haiti are also under duress. Many are feeling burnt out from fear of contracting the virus due to a lack of personal protective equipment.
UNFPA has distributed 2,570 medical kits for maternity wards, 1,300 hygiene kits and 400 solar lamps to facilities in need of supplies.
Your gift of $150 will allow UNFPA to provide a rural clinic with the supplies, medications, and equipment it needs to safely manage obstetric emergencies.
Already, more than 800 mothers die every day due to causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. This will worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your gift will save lives.
Giving birth is becoming dramatically less safe.
In Yemen, Aisha was pregnant but did not access prenatal care. She was afraid of leaving the house – afraid of the violence that engrosses the country.
And afraid of the virus.
“We kept hearing on the television about a new virus called corona that is killing people in many countries.”
Aisha was also pregnant with triplets.
You can help new moms like Aisha get the care they need. Just $15 provides three women with emergency birth kits, so they can safely deliver their babies during crises.
Aisha made a decision that many mothers in Yemen make. She decided to give birth at home.
“My mother kept shouting that there were two umbilical cords hanging and I was losing blood.”
Her uncle lived nearby and rushed her to a UNFPA-supported hospital. “It was like a miracle,” she said, after giving birth to three healthy babies.
A contribution of $100 supplies five midwives with the items they need to help moms like Aisha give birth.
With health care systems at risk of collapsing, UNFPA is urgently supplying lifesaving medical equipment to help frontline health workers save mothers and babies.
More than 800 mothers die every day due to causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. This will worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Can you help ensure that the world's most vulnerable receive the care they need during these uncertain times? Your gift of $25 provides one woman with the hygiene essentials she needs to take care of herself and her baby for the first six months.
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Razia, from Pakistan, was only 13 years old when her family married her off. She quickly became pregnant, though tragically, her husband died when she was six months along.
Razia, like many young mothers, had a birth complications. She was in labor for four days before her daughter was stillborn and she developed an obstetric fistula. Razia did not have the lifesaving skills of a midwife with her when she gave birth.
$400 equips a midwife and a maternity ward with enough supplies to help 50 women like Razia safely deliver their babies.
Fistula is a birth injury in which a long or obstructed labor causes a tear in the birth canal, leading to the mother leaking feces or urine. It often causes infections and social isolation. Fistula is also overwhelmingly a problem faced by the most disadvantaged women- impoverished, young, or malnourished.
"People would either avoid me or just make fun of me," Razia said. "I never felt clean."
Thankfully, Razia was able to obtain treatment for her fistula and go on to live a healthy life, including getting remarried and having her own child!
Now, she works with UNFPA to bring treatment to other women suffering from fistula.
You can join Razia and prevent women from ever needing fistula surgery to begin with.
$15 provides three mothers with emergency birth kits, which provide all of the materials necessary to give birth during a crisis.
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