Last Friday I attended a workshop at which midwives and other
maternity care providers in Ghana were being trained on how to treat
post-partum hemorrhage (bleeding that occurs after the delivery of a child) using
a modified version of a device that had been developed in 1983. I wasn’t even born in 1983.
I sat there conflicted. On one
end I was amazed at the collective ineffectiveness of everyone involved in
science, engineering, healthcare, and development for taking as long as we did
in implementing this solution. On the
other end I was uplifted by the perseverance of the same group of people for
having the sheer courage to push through the challenges to bring the solution
to where there is great need for it.
For one, the price was brought down from $300 to ~$2 (using readily
available materials to form a DIY kit instead of buying an expensive
device). This made it a lot more practical
for Ministries of Health to adopt and promote.
Strategies and policies were developed from scratch to make reductions
in maternal health part of national policies and guidelines. Clinical trials and studies were conducted in
various geographies to make sure the DIY kit was as effective as the more expensive
device. Finances were put together to
pay for the time and effort of non-profits and others who conduct these workshops. All this and plenty more happened
since 1983, but it still took 32 years.
Is this a success or a failure?
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