I spoke by phone today to one of the midwives at Kofan Gayan hospital. The solar electric system was installed three weeks ago, and I wanted to know whether the lighting and communication upgrades had made a difference in care. Maimuna was excited. “There are many improvements,” she told me. “There are no delays in doing c/sections. No one is being turned away from the hospital. There were eight deliveries last night. And there are no more secrets. This is a great improvement”
What she went on to describe is a situation where the walkie-talkies allow the physicians to know when there are patients in need of emergency care. This is the ‘no secrets’ to which she referred. Cesarean sections are being performed without difficulty at night, and that more patients were coming to the hospital for care.
I spoke to a physician tonight and confirmed the nurse’s report! He told me that the solar interventions have made a big impact on reducing the third delay – the delay in getting women life-saving care once they arrive at the hospital.
I am so happy to know that our efforts are having the exact impact that we hoped for! Now we will make efforts to bring these life-saving interventions to other hospitals providing obstetric care in Africa.
