Annual Report & Financial Statements 2007
Islamic Relief Worldwide & Subsidiary Undertakings
ENSURING GOOD HEALTH 
In Bangladesh we provide access to information and services related to sexual and reproductive health. This enables and empowers young people to protect themselves against disease and to live healthy lives.
Supporting mothers in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh only 48 per cent of women have access to ante-natal care and only one in five women give birth with the help of a skilled birth attendant. We are working to improve this situation by providing essential health services including ante-natal and post-natal care, and adolescent health care, including information about HIV. In 2007, our health workers and clinics provided ante-natal care to 15,500 women.
If a woman has skilled support during child-birth she and her baby are more likely to be healthy. In 2007, skilled birth attendants trained by Islamic Relief, assisted at over 2,750 births and 400 high risk cases were referred to hospital. To help improve mother and child health further we also immunised 5,500 children under one and over 21,000 women.
Maternal health in Gaza
There are only three maternity units in the Gaza Strip and all suffer from a shortage of beds and medical equipment. To address this problem in 2007 we began work to renovate the Al Shifa maternity hospital.
Although the hospital receives around 60 patients a day, there are only six beds. This situation combined with the general inability of Palestinian women to access healthcare because of escalating violence, is putting the lives of women at risk. In partnership with the UNDP we rehabilitated the hospital to improve the conditions for pregnant women. We also provided essential equipment such as delivery beds, mobile lights, defibrillators and trolleys, all of which could help to save women’s lives.
We are also working to reduce the maternal mortality rate and improve the health of women and their children in the West Bank. To do this we have restored ten health clinics, as well as providing them with essential medical equipment. This has improved the quality of healthcare for over 57,000 people. We have also trained over 40 health professionals on ante-natal and post natal care to help them provide women with better medical assistance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Download Full Report
You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the full report
::Download Reader::
