Médecins Sans Frontières - New maternity in CAR 28

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSB145948

Date taken / Date Recorded 26/10/2022 12:28 PM

Country Central African Republic

Detailed location Bangui

Commissioning section MSF-BELGIUM

Photographer / videographer / producer Barbara Debout

Copyright Barbara Debout

Usage Rights (MSF) Advertising Campaign, External Media, MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available yes

Editor's rating ★★★★★ (C)

Maximum Size 5171px × 3448px 6.00 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist Maternal and neonatal health is a major health emergency in CAR. The country’s maternal and child mortality rates are among the highest in the world. According to the most recent statistics, women are 138 times more likely to die of pregnancy and delivery complications in CAR than in the EU, while a baby in CAR is 25 times more likely to die before its first birthday than if it had been born in Europe

Most maternal deaths are related to complications that could be avoided if healthcare was available, either in terms of pregnancy support or family planning provision. But decades of instability and armed violence have contributed to essential medical care being out of reach for many pregnant women and newborn babies.For years, the critical situation in CAR around maternal and child healthcare has prompted MSF to provide free emergency obstetric care for women and newborns in locations across the country. MSF is also training Ministry of Health staff and renovating and equipping medical facilities so they can provide a good standard of care. In 2021, MSF teams helped nearly 19,600 women to give birth, including 1,020 by caesarean, while 1,900 newborn babies were treated in MSF-supported neonatal units across the country.

In Bangui, MSF fully rehabilitated the maternity and neonatal wards of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Communautaire (CHUC), one of the largest hospitals of CAR’s capital city. The brand-new services opened in July 2022, and MSF teams collaborate with those of the Ministry of health to provide free, specialized care for women and newborns in critical condition.
From mid-July to Mid-December 2022, teams of MSF and of the Ministry of health provided care to 421 pregnant women, and 71 babies were admitted in the neonatal ward, including 17 born preterm.