Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Garissa (Agenzia Fides) - The Garissa Maternal Shelter in the northeast Province of Kenya is the only existing maternal and child care health centre in an area that records the highest mortality rates across the country. With 1000 deaths per 100 000 live births reports almost double the average of Kenya. However, at present there are only 7 women hospitalized, compared to 24 that can be accepted. The reason is mainly due to lack of awareness of the presence of the structure, ignorance and lack of means to reach it. According to Kenya's Demographic Health Care Report 2009, maternal mortality in the country is 448 per 100 000 live births. The rate doubles in the northeastern Province, especially due to the inaccessibility of women to health facilities because of long distances, the difficulty of paying for services as well as ignorance. The region is semi-arid in some areas and arid in others, and most communities have to survive on humanitarian aid they receive. The center hosts, among others, also cases of women who have had teenage pregnancies, abortions, cesarean delivery, placental abruption, preeclampsia or high blood pressure. Unlike other centres of the country, this allows mothers to keep their children with them. Being the only center of maternal care in the region, serving women from hundreds of miles away. Although the structure was founded in 2007 and is supported by the Kenyan government, the United Nations have adopted it to make a pilot project, this being the first time that a community is facing many challenges. In the event of a positive result this could give life to another project with the objective of reducing the alarming rate of mortality in the region. Although this is sparsely populated, there is need for maternal shelters in other areas such as Awjir and Mandera so that people do not have to walk for miles before being admitted. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 21/12/2011)
