Our first attempt at getting a story
done on Maternal Health was friday. We had planned well, contacts
made, things lined up, driver booked, all ducks in a row. First
stop was to be the new Ministry of Health build for a clip on the
stats. 994 women die per 100,000 live births. We arrived early
thanks to a speedy driver. After making contact with the
interviewee, we soon discovered that he first had to run his friend
to the bank, 20 minutes or so. Which of course means 2 hours and I
still might not come back. We did get a phone number, room number
and name for a Dr. that might help us. So after about 20 minutes of
no answer Laurel just started knocking on office doors. Eventually
she made it up to meet the Chief Medical Officer of Liberia. Once in
while being pushy works for you.
Interview in the can we headed for
lunch. Lebanese food. It's safe, and everywhere. Next up was to
pick up Nathan. A JHR graduate and the Human Rights Reporter for
Liberian Broadcasting System. It was great to have him along as he
was able to translate the driver's English for us. As we headed out
of town we had to detour around some road closures and wound up in
the back streets of Red Light District. One of the best places to
get robbed or pick pocketed. Fortunately for us we just leaned on
the horn to get people out of the way. Your usual foreigners just
pushing their way around.
Once we got back on the paved road it
seems the driver decide that speed was best. Never mind the
potholes that would swallow you front end and snap the axial or blow
out your tires, 65 mph it is. After about 45 minutes of this and a few “slow the
#$% down” he managed to blow the shock absorbers out on the car
that someone lent him.
We turned off the pavement and headed
into the bush. Destination Todee District. Laurel had arranged for
some mid wives to meet us at a Gobah Town. They are luck enough to
be serviced a Presbyterian clinic nearby. We then pushed on further into the
jungle and headed for Qurment where there are no services. If there
are complications at birth, the local women must walk, or hope that
someone can drive them to the closest facility. 30-45 minutes by
car. A hell of a lot longer if your walking. Most of these
deaths are preventable by North American standards. Not so much
here. Simple minor things can kill you.
While in Qurment we met two week old
Prince. He was lucky. His mother gave birth with no complications
with the help of the local mid wife.
After our little exploration in the
Liberian bush we crammed back into the beaten vehicle and headed for
home. We limped back to Monrovia at a slower pace with an
experience that I can only show you a few photos that don't do it
justice.
I hope to post the story when we get it
together in the coming days.
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