ZAMBEZIA, Mozambique – Days after record-breaking Cyclone Freddy made its second landfall in Mozambique, Diana Dino, 23, due to give birth any day, attended a health centre for a routine prenatal-care appointment. But services had halted, as the cyclone had damaged the health unit's infrastructure.
Diana had no choice but to give birth at home.
A day later, Diana heard that health services in her community were resuming through newly installed tents provided by the Government of Mozambique, with support from UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. These tents would enable much-needed maternal and child health services in the area to continue.
Proud at being the first patient to be attended to at the tents, Diana and her newborn son received postnatal care from health-care providers. "Fortunately, mother and baby are in good health," said nurse Lica Estevão. "With the tents installed, we have already started to see an increase in women seeking health services."
In times of crisis worldwide, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care may become unavailable, exacerbating the vulnerability of pregnant women. This is particularly risky for more than 31,100 pregnant women currently impacted by Mozambique’s triple crisis of Cyclone Freddy, floods and cholera.
Mozambique, with support from UNFPA. © UNFPA Mozambique/Helder Xavier
In Zambezia province alone, 741,136 people have been impacted (as of 25 April), including thousands of women who will deliver within the next month and who urgently need access to obstetric care. Working closely with the Government, UNFPA procured and installed tents, enabling women and girls to access timely, life-saving services in privacy.
Urgent need for family planning services
With one in five women of reproductive age in Mozambique wanting to avoid or space pregnancies but not using any form of family planning (IMASIDA 2015), ensuring continued access to contraception is critical – particularly during a natural disaster.
Tents are a 'breath of fresh air'
"We have been working hard to ensure they [women and girls] do not face unwanted pregnancies," said nurse Rosana Henriques. The tents are "a breath of fresh air”, she added, because initially, the flow of women and girls seeking sexual and reproductive health services reduced due to a lack of privacy and services at the damaged centres.
We have been working hard to ensure they [women and girls] do not face unwanted pregnancies. The tents are a breath of fresh air.
That has now changed as the number of women and girls seeking services increases. As of mid-April, UNFPA had set up 17 tents to enable immediate and safe access to health services for more than 20,000 women and girls.
To continue meeting the needs of those most vulnerable, UNFPA urgently seeks $5 million to support more than 450,000 people – of whom almost 110,000 are women of reproductive age – to ensure the continuity of life-saving health and gender-based violence services.
As childbirth and pregnancies do not stop in emergencies, funding support will enable women like Diana and Inês to receive the timely services they need to make informed choices regarding their bodies and reproductive health.
