Women's mobile clinics -
Maternity Worldwide goes mobile!
Dr Camilla Ducker and Nurse Practitioner Liz Yea saw
first-hand the effect that a little help can have when they travelled
to Gimbie to run a series of mobile clinics for Maternity Worldwide.
Dr Ducker said ”We ran a series of clinics in the villages surrounding
the hospital. It was overwhelming. In less than 3 weeks we managed to
treat over 1,000 people. And we know that there is so much more we can
do for the mothers of Gimbie to give them a fighting chance.
Since then Dr Ducker has been focusing her energies on raising the
funds to return to Gimbie. For only £25,000 Dr Ducker will be able to
run a mobile clinic for 3 years.
Every penny will be spent locally providing basic health care for the
women of Gimbie, and the money will go a long way. £1.50 will buy iron
tablets for a month giving a woman a much better chance of surviving pregnancy. Just 5p will pay for treatment for intestinal parasites and help fight off the
resulting malnourishment to her and her child.
“Simple treatments we take for granted in the UK have a massive impact
in Ethiopia,” says Dr Ducker. “We are lucky enough to live in a country
where basic, but life-saving, healthcare is taken for granted, and I
would love the women of Gimbie to be able to rely on regular essential
treatment.
The charity also aims to reinvest in the area by training members of
the community to run the clinic, as well as buying all drugs and
medical equipment locally.
“We want to help the women of Gimbie help themselves, and break the
poverty health trap. When a child dies it is tragic. But when a mother
dies, it puts a whole family at risk,’ said Liz Yea.
Once the clinics are up and running, the future plans are to introduce
family planning education, so the women can choose if and when to have
more children – currently a choice not available to them.
But none of Camilla and Liz’s plans can become a reality unless they
raise the funds needed. To date, funds have been coming in fast but
more money is needed to launch the programme with the confidence that
it will become fully sustainable."
