Vital edge has always been extremely responsive to situations affecting maternal health. Supporting an ambulance service dedicated to bring mothers to clinics in Pakistan in 2007.
Expectant mothers.
As a result of the harsh and rugged conditions , Mali also presents particular challenges to expectant mothers, and there is a complete absence of any trained midwives the Dogon region of Mali . This combined with very high fertility rates and extremely high maternal and infant mortality rates.
95% of births occur in the villages and are attended by the village “Accoucheuses Traditionnelles”, Traditional Birth Attendants, or TBA. For the most part the TBA are women who are over 50, who are past menopause and are no longer giving birth to their own children. They are from family lineages that pass on the “knowledge” from mother to daughter. However despite a certain level of knowledge and expertise, basic sanitation procedures are often not followed, even if those procedures are known, and there is a lack of basic medicines and supplies. E.g. surgical gloves, sterile plastic sheets, clean surgical blades.
VITAL EDGE organizes 2 week formal training programs in the area hospital and supply the TBAs with a medicine kit with solar lights, sanitized razor blades, medicines surgical gloves & cell phones and funds an all-terrain vehicle for a locally operated maternity ambulance service to the hospital.