In Madagascar, 8 women die per day from complications during childbirth. Neonatal deaths occur at 41 per 1,000 births, compared with 7 per 1,000 in the United States. At the Ankirihiry Hospital in Toamasina, 150 babies are born each month. In collaboration with the Caring Response Madagascar Foundation (CRMF), IMEC helped to transform the maternity department of the Ankirihiry Hospital into a well-equipped department with well-trained medical staff that will better serve the maternal and infant patients and reduce mortality rates in the region.

The IMEC/CRMF project transformed the delivery room of the hospital into a “delivery suite” with ultrasounds, dopplers, infant warmers, delivery beds and other life saving equipment and supplies. Because of the new equipment, the hospital expanded the delivery room into a new area, allowing more space for additional patients. Labor Beds were immediately put to use. Emergency carts to treat hemorrhages, the leading cause of death of maternal patients in Madagascar, were assembled for use. The hospital received its first infant warmers to treat its newborn patients. Doctors and midwives immediately began training on ultrasounds and dopplers to listen to the babies’ heart beats.

CRMF not only collaborated with IMEC to deliver these purposefully selected medical equipment suites, but to provide postpartum emergency training to doctors and midwives Ankirihiry Hospital. With the training and equipment now in place, the doctors and midwives at the hospital are now well prepared to serve their patients, and to reduce maternal and infant deaths in the region.

The video below shows equipment from IMEC medical equipment in use at Ankirihiry Hospital: