Problem

For millions of women around the world, pregnancy and childbirth carry significant risk for their health and survival: Nearly 530,000 women die annually from pregnancy-related causes, and millions more suffer injuries or develop life-long disabilities. Ninety-nine percent of these women live in the developing world. Most rural health facilities handling large caseloads of deliveries lack the most basic supplies and equipment, like delivery kits, forcing women to give birth in very unhygienic and dangerous conditions.

The Gift

FCI has been working in rural, under-served districts of Africa to reduce maternal deaths by upgrading and strengthening the skills of health care providers, improving care at clinics and hospitals, addressing basic equipment, infrastructure, and referral gaps, and through community awareness-raising, increasing women’s use of maternity health services. To date, we have upgraded 95 health facilities and trained over 300 health providers to recognize and manage obstetric emergencies. FCI’s programs aim to ensure that rural health facilities have the basic equipment they need to provide quality care, but equipment wears out and needs to be replaced frequently. Your contribution of $150 will pay for a delivery kit (a kit can last a year at a facility with a high number of deliveries) with basic supplies to help ensure a safe, hygienic childbirth in Africa.