Support Safe Births in Palestine
MADRE is working with a group of Palestinian and Israeli midwives to help women safely deliver their babies. Your support of this project will help train and equip certified midwives in the West Bank to help women safely deliver their babies. Your gift can provide "safe birth" medical kits, portable ultrasound devices, pre-natal supplements or will support joint trainings for Israeli and Palestinian midwives.
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The Need
In Palestine, the state of women's reproductive health has been seriously affected by the conflict with Israel. Since 2000, there has been a continuous decline in women's access to health care as restrictions on free movement have increased. The Israeli military has destroyed or barricaded thousands of roads in the West Bank, making it difficult for Palestinian women who are in labor to reach hospitals. United Nations agencies estimate that 2,500 Palestinian women per year face difficulties, many life-threatening or fatal, en route to a birthing facility. These travel restrictions have caused increasing numbers of Palestinian women to give birth without any assistance from health workers. Skilled, well-equipped midwives help ensure a safe and healthy birth for women in the West Bank, even if they can't reach a hospital. The use of trained midwives will help to reduce maternal and infant mortality by providing personalized healthcare counseling, and postpartum health education on breastfeeding, hygiene, infant care, and family planning.
About MADRE
Partner since January, 2009
MADRE is an international women's human rights organization that works in partnership with community-based women's organizations worldwide to address issues of economic and environmental justice, women’s health and violence against women, and peace building. MADRE provides resources, training, and support to enable our sister organizations to meet concrete needs in their communities and develop long-term solutions to the crises they face. MADRE addresses the negative impacts of US actions abroad and empowers people in the US to challenge and change destructive government policies. Since its inception in 1983, MADRE has delivered 25 million dollars worth of support to community-based women's organizations in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Balkans, and the United States.
