What you can do to help:

Wellbeing of Women is continuing in it's commitment to raise funds, to ensure that minimally the monthly running costs of the Croix-des-Bouquets Maternity Centre are maintained amounting to USD20,000.  This will ensure that the local staff are able to remain living and employed in their locale and to help with the 70,000 births that are estimated to occur before the end of the year in Haiti.

AS HAITI REBUILDS CHILDBIRTH CANNOT WAIT - THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN DONATING NOW

About our Mothers and Newborns in Haiti Campaign:




















The Situation for Mothers and Newborns in Haiti
The poorest country in the Western hemisphere, the rate of maternal mortality in Haiti is one of the highest in the world at close to 1,000 per 100,000. Currently 7,000 women affected by the earthquake are giving birth each month and by the end of this year more than 70,000 women will have had babies this year. Despite tireless work to re-establish and strengthen quality health services and considerable progress being made, the maternity units in the Port au Prince and surrounding areas still cannot meet that demand.

Croix-des-Bouquets Maternity Centre
The demands for obstetric care at the Croix-des-Bouquets Maternity Centre have more than tripled since the earthquake. The Centre’s close proximity to the outdoor camps for displaced people containing at least 60,000 refugees, in addition to the 300,000-400,00 people in the local population, continues to result in a large influx of women arriving there to seek a clean and safe place to give birth. In addition there has been a rise in the pregnancy rate.

Coupled with more difficult pregnancies, a higher percentage of hypertension and pre-eclampsia is reported by the Centre. The sanitation in the tent camps is also causing more postpartum infections.

Response Since the Start of the Campaign
La Société Haitienne d’Obstétrique et de Gynécologie (SHOG) and our colleagues at the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SGOC) have since February been working in partnership to urgently expand comprehensive maternal and newborn services. Funds raised in support of this effort have made a significant impact, especially in allowing for the rapid expansion of services. $228,000 of the requisite $500,000 USD June target to establish and maintain services has been raised to date.
In May Wellbeing of Women was able to contribute $20,000 towards the target with the money going directly to the running costs of the Croix-des-Bouquets Maternity Centre. We are continuing to work with both organisations in an attempt to ensure that the much needed remaining target funds are secured. It is now more than ever critical that momentum is maintained for this vital part of the infrastructure to avoid further devastating impact. There is an urgent need to increase the size of the available facilities and maintain skilled staff numbers. Haiti has had a chronic shortage of both doctors and nurses for many years, many skilled Haitians seek work abroad, and the earthquake has exacerbated that and the competition for skilled staff. There continues to be a massive increase in workload for all the staff at Croix-des-Bouquets.




Progress
May the Croix –des-Bouquets Maternity Centre has made significant progress in its ability to increase both volume and quality of its maternal and newborn health services:
It continues to receive and treat patients from the surrounding health centres in the Port-au-Prince region, as it has established a strong reputation for provision of emergency obstetric and quality health services.

• Renovation work on the second floor is nearing completion and will result in increased space for the obstetrical unit. This will allow for a bigger delivery room with more beds for antepartum and postpartum patients and a post-operative room for women receiving caesarean sections. By increasing the space available, this new ward will meet required standards and will also accommodate two delivery tables, as well as an assessment office, midwifery service office, and a small room for anaesthetist, obstetricians and those on-call
• Salaries of operating room staff, health professionals and support staff up to 1 Aug have been secured
• Housing for medical staff on duty 24 hours a day has been secured.

What is still urgently needed?
Salary support for health professionals, midwives, nurses, attendants at the clinic - approximately $15,000/month. Since last April the Maternity Centre has been operating 24/7 necessitating the need for the hiring of more staff both specialist and support. The payroll has increased exponentially. Retention of staff at the Centre is crucial to its operation. Recruitment of further staff Ongoing acquisition of medical supplies and medication - $5,000 USD/month Expansion costs will increase as a sceptic tank must be added to drain the toilets and a three-phase electrical line needs to be erected to connect the Centre to city power. The generator must be kept in the case of power failure Installation of a fuel tank to allow for the purchase of fuel at bulk price Sustainability. The creation of a reserve fund to cope with the increasing rise of some recurrent costs such as fuel for the generator and the ambulance.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU CAN MAKE
Significant progress is being made but the target of $500,000 is not yet met and we are committed in our help in reaching the campaign goal.

Please help us to ensure that women in Haiti can give birth in dignity, not disaster. Thank you.

DONATE ONLINE HERE

If you would like to talk to someone about making a donation please call 020 7772 6400 or email
wellbeingofwomen@rcog.org.uk

Wellbeing of Women