“I can’t imagine them giving birth without the support of a skilled health professional”, Mark Epeyon, a community health volunteer at Katilu hospital in Kenya’s Turkana region.
Since November, the motorcycle ambulance has protected lives that would have been lost without rapid transport to the nearest health center.
Help on wheels
Even before the current climate crisis, birth attendance rates were low in Kenya. Today the maternal mortality rate remains high, despite some progress, at 342 mothers per 100,000 live births – almost 90 per cent of which is attributed to inadequate quality of care.
Mathew Bundotich, a medical supervisor at Katilu hospital, explained that families are forced to go further from health centers in search of water, food and grass for their animals.
While midwives usually assist with at least 60 births a month, she said the injury has led to fewer prenatal visits.
“We are proud of ourselves in recording the deaths of young mothers in our company last year”, said Mr. Bundotich. “But now we have to follow women into their communities in order to reach them.”
Driver on case
Having worked in the community for more than 11 years, Mr. Epeyon has mastered the art of navigating both on and off-road – quickly finding a mother in urgent need of assistance, even in rural areas that cannot be entered.
“I became a community health volunteer because I saw the impact the lack of good health information and access to services was having on my people,” she told UNFPA.
“When my wife was pregnant for the first time, she gave birth at home. Our son developed health complications that have affected him as an adult. “
Spread the word
To reach more women and girls in drought-prone areas, Mr. Epeyon has gone door to door, telling others about the motorcycle ambulance, encouraging pregnant women to call him when in need. , day or night.
In its first month of operation, the scrambler safely transported five women with pregnancy emergencies to the hospital, likely saving their lives and the lives of their newborns.
Living life
As the motorcycle can carry a patient safely and comfortably, external medical staff and emergency supplies for on-site care, it has significantly reduced the time needed to deliver critical assistance to those in remote areas.
“In the past, women gave birth on the side of the road while walking to the hospital because they were far from a health facility,” Mr. Epeyon explained.
“With the motorcycle ambulance, even if a woman gets on the way, she is able to do so with dignity, on a comfortable bed and with the help of the health worker and myself”.
Heartfelt favorite
Due to the ongoing drought, more than 4.3 million Kenyans are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 134,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Through its Response Plan for the Horn of Africa Drought Crisis 2022-2023, UNFPA is appealing for $113.7 million to protect the sexual and reproductive health and rights of millions of women and girls across the region.
The ongoing drought has made it extremely difficult for women in Turkana region, Kenya, to access essential health services – a dire situation that UNFPA’s motorcycle ambulance is helping to address.
