What
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
Over half a million women die in childbirth every year. That’s twice as many deaths than from the 2004 tsunami. 99% of these deaths are in developing countries. Hemorrhage after delivery is the most common cause of maternal death worldwide. Our projects are the first to show traditional midwives can stop women from bleeding to death in their own homes. Well beyond the reach of hospitals and government health services, home births are made much safer with misoprostol.
Activities
Through clinical studies requested by the government, we provide evidence that the drug can be safely administered by traditional midwives, who accompany the vast majority of births. We train 100 traditional midwives and support 1,000 births.
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $4,414
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $10,586
Total Funding Goal: $15,000
Additional Documentation
Resources
Why
Potential Long Term Impact
Making misoprostol available will give midwives the power to save tens of thousands of women from needlessly bleeding to death after delivery. Mothers surviving childbirth improves the health of newborns and well-being of families.
Project Message
Women here give birth at home with the traditional midwife. The health center is far away, closed at night, and there are no drugs. Women die without help in the village.
- Dr. Ndola Prata, Director of Maternal Health Program
Who
ContactAmy Grossman,Project contact Venture Strategies 2140 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 1110 Berkeley, CA 94704-1234 United States 510-665-1880 Email: Project SponsorMarketplace 2005 |
Organization
Learn more about Venture Strategies for Health and Development and the project team. |
Where
Country
This project is located in 
Ethiopia
and can also be found under 
Health.
For more information about Ethiopia, read the Human Development Report on Ethiopia or the Wikipedia entry for Ethiopia.
When
Last Updated
This project was last updated on August 07, 2008.
Date Added to GlobalGiving
This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on September 02, 2005.
Latest Update from the Field
Awareness campaign
By Amy Grossman - VSHD launches “Misoprostol Day” in Ethiopia, May 07, 2008 05:57 PM
In February 2008, Misoprostol Day, an innovative and successful information, education and communication campaign, was held at the annual Women’s Association meeting in the remote region of Tigray. The purpose of the campaign was to engender dialogue among influential women about misoprostol and develop a means to increase availability of the life-saving tablets. Women immediately identified with the message of birth preparedness and misoprostol as a feasible option for their deliveries. The conference highlighted education and empowered women to understand how misoprostol works, its importance for preventing death from excessive bleeding after childbirth and where they will be able to obtain the tablets in the near future. The results of the VSHD-sponsored operations research study with misoprostol distributed by traditional birth attendants in Tigray were also presented.
More than 800 female delegates representing constituents from the regional to village level attended, including high ranking representatives from other women’s groups from SNNPR, Dire Dawa, Harar, and Addis Ababa regions. Mrs. Azeb Mesfin, wife of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and chair of the Social Affairs Committee in Parliament, expressed her commitment to ensuring that misoprostol is available throughout the entire country and women understand how to use it.
Ethiopia is the first country in the world to engage women’s groups on a large scale for share the knowledge of postpartum hemorrhage and misoprostol. Since the initial launch in Tigray, VSHD has implemented a similar strategy in Ahmara, Dira Dawa and Harar regionals and additional campaigns are planned throughout Ethiopia, as well as in other countries.
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