Hunger crisis in Africa

As part of her monitoring trip to Zimbabwe,
employee Raquel, of the alliance 
organization of Aktion Deutschland Hilft, 
LandsAid, visited the aid organization's 
current project in the capital Harare. “We 
support our two local partner organizations 
Miracle Missions and Garikai Health in 
implementing various measures,” reports 
LandsAid employee. "They aim to ensure that 
pregnant women in the economically and 
socially disadvantaged township of Kuwadzana 
receive preventive examinations as early and 
as regularly as possible."

The overarching goal is to make a contribution 
to reducing the maternal mortality rate, which 
is quite high in Zimbabwe.

Examinations of pregnant women
An important part of the project is the 
examinations of pregnant women, explains the 
LandsAid employee. "Two nurses go from house to 
house in the township to identify pregnant women 
and explain to them how important preventive care 
is for them. They carry out initial, simple 
examinations that do not require a doctor 
immediately afterwards." Raquel traveled with them 
for a day.

“The nurses are each equipped with a compact set of 
measuring devices that can fit in a large backpack,” 
she reports. This includes a blood pressure monitor, 
test strips for blood and urine tests to determine 
protein levels, blood sugar, HB and cholesterol 
levels, gloves and disinfectants. The nurses even 
had a portable mini Doppler device with them that 
they could use to listen to the child's heartbeat.

"For some pregnant women it was the first time they 
heard their child's heart beating". "They didn't 
want to take the headphones off at all." Women 
whose pregnancies are judged to be at risk can 
register early at the central clinic in Harare through 
the recommendations of the nurses.

Distribution of maternity kits
"In Zimbabwe, expectant mothers are required to bring 
all the necessary materials with them to the birth - 
from hygiene items such as disinfectant and a mask, to 
clean mats for the birth, a bucket to carry water, to 
hats and doilies for the baby," says LandsAid employee 
Raquel. In a country where 50 percent of the population 
lives below the poverty line, cost reasons prevent many 
women from having their births carried out by a trained 
medical professional.

In order to exclude home births as much as possible, the 
women cared for as part of the project are provided with 
a birth kit. “In order to cover the high demand for these 
sets, we urgently need all support”.

Short and long term goals
A total of 3,600 pregnant women in the township will be 
reached through the measures supported by our alliance 
organization LandsAid. In addition to acute help, it is 
about identifying the main risks that lead to a high 
mortality rate among expectant mothers, explains Raquel. 
The awareness of pregnant women and expectant fathers is 
also raised about the importance of such screening early 
in pregnancy.

“We also try to understand why women don’t go for 
preventative care”. “Recommendations for future measures 
and improvements can be derived from this.” The project is 
funded by Aktion Deutschland Hilft. LandsAid has been a 
member of the alliance of aid organizations since 2012.

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