MONROVIA-As part of its commitment to reduce maternal mortality and ensure a safer motherhood, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund has supplied health facilities in communities hosting Ivorian refugees in Nimba, Grand Gedeh, River Gee and Maryland counties with reproductive health and dignity kits.
There are more than 27 thousand new arrivals among Ivorian refugees in Liberia.
The supplies procured at a cost of about 350 thousand United States Dollars include individual delivery kits, assisted delivery kits, rape treatment kits, STI treatment kits, emergency contraceptives, and blood transfusion kits among others.
UNFPA has also supported the training and deployment of 24 midwives at health facilities across the four counties to ensure the availabiliy of skilled providers to assist pregnant women among the refugees and host communities during childbirth.
“Even under normal conditions, reproductive health issues are among the leading causes of death and illness among women of childbearing age. When a crisis strikes, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care often become unavailable, exacerbating the vulnerability of pregnant women, ,” says UNFPA Representative, Dr. Bannet Ndyanabangi.
“We want to ensure that the refugees and host communities have access to quality sexual reproductive health and rights services and adequate support for survivors of gender-based violence”, Dr. Ndyanabangi adds.
Liberia has one of the highest maternal mortality in the world (1072/100,000) lives birth. It is estimated that 4 women die every day in pregnancy or as a result of pregnancy-related causes.