South Sudan has one of the worst rates of maternal mortality in the world, and within the country, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state suffers the most, with one in seven mothers dying as a result of child birth.
In the state’s only hospital, a team from Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) is trying to improve practices so that mothers are not risking their lives whilst trying to grow their families.
The maternity ward is spartan, but with life-saving techniques—and drugs—MSF have reduced the mortality rate from 14% to 0.6%.
When staff at the hospital left us alone with two screaming mothers in labour, I hoped that today, I would not be delivering my first baby, as well as just witnessing my first birth.
Read more here in Jean-Marc’s piece on our trip.