Post Tagged with: "maternal health"

A Pat on the Back

A couple of times in the past I’ve gotten flack for giving credit to former US President George W. Bush here my blog, though it’s not because of any particular political persuasion I hold. On the continent of Africa, no other leader’s legacy endures more so than that of President Bush–trust me, I live here. From the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Program (PEPFAR) to his efforts to combat cervical cancer on the continent, Mr. Bush’s initiatives have saved millions, yes, millions of lives here.  So, just as I always ask for a photo by-line from my clients, I won’t refuse to give credit where credit is due when talking about another Bush-founded agency dedicated to aid in the developing world, the Millennium Challenge Corporation. My most recent work with the Millennium Challenge Corporation has so far taken me to the African countries of Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and Mozambique.  Many[…]

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Solar for Your Health

How does an NGO combine sustainable energy with family planning and reproductive health services?  It can only happen in Africa, where there’s serious demand for both.  Pathfinder International’s integrated programs in Uganda are helping to kill two giant birds with one stone. Remote Bussi Island, in Lake Victoria, is home to a number of small fishing communities.  The island has little infrastructure and is not connected to the national grid.  Most people use small paraffin (kerosene) lamps to see at night, provided they can afford to buy the paraffin. Pathfinder, who has been working to improve maternal health and increase access to family planning services on the island for several years, knew that nurses and other health care workers struggled to carry out essential services once the sun set. Solar-generated electricity became the solution for Bussi’s Health Center as well as other health centers in the country. Above, a woman[…]

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Where There Is No Doctor

Pathfinder International’s mobile health care camps bring family planning services, HIV testing, ante-natal care, and immunizations to isolated communities that otherwise would not have access to health services. The following were taken on a rainy day in Kyanjojo and Kasese, in Western Uganda. “The hospital is very far and there are no midwives to attend to them in case a woman goes into labor at night… We are losing very many mothers. You never know which pregnancy will not be proper or which pregnancy will lead to death,” says midwife Harriet Kegonzi, shown above. Pathfinder also emphasizes contraception as a principal method of bringing down high maternal mortality rates. With more than six children per mother on average, Uganda consistently ranks among the highest fertility rates in the world.

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Do they know it’s Women’s Day?

I haven’t been in the States during International Women’s Day in quite a while. Unless things have drastically changed, I can’t remember it being a big deal there. In Africa things are different. Currently I’m in Western Uganda gearing up to photograph a Women’s Day march and rally as part of a larger assignment for ActionAid. This coming Tuesday marks the 100th annual celebration of the event. Before I get to that however, detailing my previous assignment with the Uganda Women’s Health Initiative couldn’t be more appropriate for the occasion. One of UWHI’s main programs is to deal with the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer, which is the leading cause of death for women in Uganda outside the child bearing age bracket. A joint study by the Uganda Ministry of Health and PATH found that 67% of bed occupancy in the gynecological ward of Mulago Hospital, Uganda’s largest, is[…]

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a (re)productive year

With assignments in six different countries throughout the world, PSI has filled up at least a terabyte’s worth of hard drive space in RAW and video files for me this year and has kept me busy enough to fall behind on my blogging. While Population Services International has programs in a number of areas in global health, I’ve primarily been documenting their reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention programs along with the lives of the women who have been helped. All of the following were taken in Mali, Cameroon, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Above, Kono Cecile receives a hormonal implant in her arm at a clinic in Yaounde, Cameroon. The implant will prevent her from having children in the next five years and allow her to concentrate on better raising the children she already has. Banconi is a crowded suburb in Mali’s capital, Bamako. Mariam Sangare, shown above at her children’s bath[…]

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Hard Labo(u)r

Recently I photographed for the first time as a still photographer on a film documentary. The dynamic was a bit different working alongside a film crew and not having the subjects to myself. Still, I feel was able to get some compelling images. The documentary is produced and directed by Christy Turlington Burns (below, right), who in recent years has made efforts to bring the issue of maternal health in the developing world into the spotlight. Entitled “No Woman, No Cry,” the film highlights the difficulties of bearing children in four different parts of the world. I was happy to be part of the crew here in Tanzania. Some photos from this shoot also appeared in Marie Claire. I also contributed to another Marie Claire article on UNICEF education programs. You can read that here. Look for the release of “No Woman, No Cry” soon.

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