Driving down maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa
During an obstetric emergency, minutes can make the difference between life and death.
In Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, drivers race along rural roads day and night to bring pregnant women to health clinics and hospitals. At the end of the journey, skilled midwives stand ready to deliver crucial care.
A global partnership between UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited is helping to make these potentially life-saving connections possible. The initiative, “2 Hours to Life”, trains both drivers to drive safely and midwives to deliver babies, to ensure that pregnant women are transported safely and receive quality obstetric care within two hours.
This photo story follows the people behind those critical moments: the fast-acting drivers and expertly trained midwives, and the women they have helped deliver safely.
Navigating bumpy roads in Benin
“We were trained to respond promptly to help save the lives of mothers and babies.”
“The road to our house has really deteriorated; ambulances cannot make it down.
So when I went into labour, my husband called for the motorcycle-ambulance.”
“All of the team has benefited from the ‘2 Hours to Life’ training to ensure safe deliveries, especially for women in rural areas, where poverty and poor road conditions are major obstacles to accessing care.”
“I tell all my sisters that the motorcycle-ambulance saves the lives of mothers and children.”
Training for emergencies in Togo
“In Togo, around 1 in 273 women dies from pregnancy or childbirth complications. Most of these deaths are preventable. The main cause of maternal death is immediate post-partum haemorrhage.”
“With the ‘2 Hours to Life’ project, we received training in emergency care, newborn resuscitation and managing postpartum haemorrhage.”
Dealing with complications in Côte d'Ivoire
“Everything was going well at the start of labour,” says Aicha, explaining that the contractions and dilation were as expected. But then came various warning signs, including intense and unusual pain for Epiphanie, and Aicha realized the baby was obstructed.
“The baby wasn’t coming. I thought I was going to lose my child.”
“When we arrived at the Béoumi hospital, the doctor said, ‘If she’d been on the road for even five more minutes, it wouldn’t have been good.’
Midwives like Aicha, Boame and Isabelle provide life-saving services, yet the world is short at least 1 million of them. More than half the gap is in Africa, which has some of the world’s highest maternal death rates.
It’s time for midwives to move from the margins to the centre of health systems. To that end, the “2 Hours to Life” project supports these crucial health workers – and helps close the gap on preventable maternal deaths.
