More than 1 in 50 Haitian women dies during childbirth over the course of her lifetime – and the World Health Organization says training midwives is key to saving lives. Oddly enough, the only midwifery training program in Haiti is run by an American midwife who lives in Richmond, Virginia. Reporter Jenny Asarnow will tell the story of this fly-by-night program, and explore what birth is like for laboring women in rural Haiti. Over the course of five weeks, Jenny will also explore the culture of American aid workers, and report on what ordinary Haitians are saying about the March 20 elections. Jenny's trip to Haiti is supported by the International Reporting Project, an independent journalism program at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.
I came to Haiti to find out why women and babies here are 50 times more likely to die during childbirth than Americans, and to find out how nurse-midwives are working to save their lives. I spent much of my time at the public hospital in Hinche, a small city in Haiti's rural Central Plateau.
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Categories: Haiti, Watch, Read, Blogs, Poverty and Development, Global Health
Sunday, March 20 was voting day in Haiti. United Nations Police stood watch with automatic rifles while Haitians in Port-au-Prince turned out to cast their ballots.
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Categories: Haiti, Watch, Poverty and Development, Politics and Conflict
I got kidnapped last week. A British gentleman picked us up at the Ramada Inn in Strasburg, Virginia. He held himself straight like a soldier, but the size of his belly indicated he hadn't seen combat in quite some time.
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Categories: Haiti, Blogs, The Media, Poverty and Development, Global Health, Politics and Conflict
More than 1 in 50 Haitian women dies during childbirth, and the World Health Organization says training midwives is key to saving lives. Oddly enough, the only midwifery training program in Haiti is run by an American midwife who lives in Richmond, Va. Reporter Jenny Asarnow will tell the story of this fly-by-night program, and explore what birth is like for laboring women in rural Haiti. Over the course of five weeks, Jenny will also explore the culture of American aid workers, and report on what ordinary Haitians are saying about the March 20 elections.
[more]
Categories: CLP Updates
It was my first full day in Hinche, a small city in Haiti's rural Central Plateau, and I was packed into a bright pink jeep with four midwives — three Haitian and one American — from the organization Midwives for Haiti, bumping over a bunch of rocks and dust called the main road. More than 50 women with big bellies were waiting for us when we pulled off the road in Dar le Grand.
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Categories: Haiti, Read, Poverty and Development, Global Health