Safe Mother and Baby

Thousands of refugee mothers and newborn babies suffer and die needlessly every year for want of a few very simple health services. UNHCR's Safe Mother and Baby Programs are helping to reduce this terrible toll by providing antenatal, obstetric and neonatal care in refugee communities throughout the world.

The emergency: Often living in impoverished and remote settlements, many refugees do not receive basic antenatal support and even fewer have access to emergency obstetric care. Refugee mothers are more likely to be poorly nourished and suffer from conditions like malaria and anaemia which can increase the risk of haemorrhage during labour. Even those having a traditional homebirth may, in an emergency setting, lack the simple means of making their birth environment clean, exposing themselves and their babies to deadly infections.

UNHCR's role: UNHCR oversees the operation of maternity clinics in refugee camps and encourages women to access these services before, during and after childbirth.

Relief provided: Thanks to your generous donations, UNHCR is able to continue this vital work with mothers, children and healthcare professionals. We train and equip midwives and, where possible, provide all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers with extra nutrition and anti-malarial medication. Where home birth is the norm and sanitation is poor, we distribute our Clean Delivery Kit - a plastic bag containing a clean blade, a plastic sheet, soap, string for the baby's cord, a swaddling cloth and information using simple pictures. These simple kits have dramatically reduced birth-related deaths and infections in a number of impoverished refugee communities.

Total funds raised to date: Since 2007, over $830,000 has been raised to support UNHCR's Safe Mother and Baby Programs in Chad, Myanmar and Somalia.

Read more examples of how your donations have contributed to other UNHCR Programs.