Africa: Côte d'Ivoire - Strengthening Maternity Care in Katiola

press release

Years of instability have severely undermined Côte d'Ivoire's health service, which now lacks facilities and trained staff, and the shortage of medical treatment available to expectant mothers and their babies has resulted in particularly high levels of maternal mortality. In July 2014, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - already present in maternity units in Duékoué and Abobo - opened a programme of care for pregnant women and new-borns at Katiola Regional Hospital Centre (RHC), north of Bouaké. The programme is run in partnership with Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Health and the Fight against AIDS.

Madeleine and her medical team at Katiola hospital have spent a long and anxious night, but she can relax now. Madeleine was designated a 'red code' emergency surgery case because of suspected umbilical cord prolapse, which could have resulted in her baby being asphyxiated. But, in fact, the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. Luckily, the Franco-Ivorian surgical team were able to perform a caesarean section in the brand new operating room re-opened only a few days earlier, at the end of April.

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