Why Every Black Woman Deserves a Doula

The United States has the highest mother mortality rates of any developed country. Through a clinic on wheels, Merck for Mothers is giving prenatal check-ups to low-income pregnant women in Philadelphia and curbing deaths related to childbirth.

In South Carolina, a Medicaid program is offering long-acting contraceptives during a new mother’s hospital stay, while she is still eligible for the benefit. Other states are following suit.

Project Baby Bear is a grant-funded pilot program that uses genome sequencing to to diagnose sick infants. The doctors hope to save lives and save the system money on unnecessary treatments. Since very few sick infants show symptoms that correlate to their genetic diagnosis, these tests are instrumental in positive health outcomes.

The United States is currently facing a rise in the cost of specialty drugs, but the nation may be able to learn from Germany's successful approach to a drug pricing initiative. Based on keeping government involvement to a minimum, new drugs must go through a series of evaluations with a non-governmental agency before entering the market to prove that the new drug has an added benefit compared to the existing drug therapies.

The simple addition of adding handles to bathroom stalls in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has helped the camps' pregnant women regain a sense of empowerment and dignity. Providing support and balance, the design of these latrines have benefited the elderly in the camps as well.

Mozambique has a shortage of practicing surgeons, so medical technicians are being trained to fill their roles in various situations, especially in rural locations. Although there are challenges to using this tactic, the technicians-turned-surgeons have similar complication rates as those who are practicing surgeons.

The Maternal and Neonatal Emergency Transport Scheme helps to increase access to healthcare services for women and newborns in rural areas through its informal transport/ambulance service. There are currently 2,500 registered drivers with the program willing to transport those in need of care and they serve about 70-90 women in labor each month.

Drug Aid Africa sources unused, unaltered drugs from people who don’t need them anymore and distributes them to people who do need them but can’t afford or access them. Drug Aid Africa provides free routine medications for conditions like sickle-cell anemia, as well as antimalarials, antibiotics and frequent visits to communities where they provide healthcare support and supplies. So far, the organization's efforts have helped more than 10,000 people.

To address gaps in healthcare access, the local government partnered with organizations like Plan International, German Cooperation and the World Bank’s Saving One Million Lives Project to build, refurbish and equip primary healthcare centers across the state to provide better care. As of May 2023, 138 centers have been built or upgraded, offering maternity care services, child healthcare, vaccinations and family planning among other services.

Mexico's Pilot Program for Licensed Physicians brings Mexican doctors to the states to address the lack of culturally relevant healthcare and Spanish-speaking healthcare providers, particularly in rural areas with large immigrant populations. Currently, the program has 30 Mexican doctors working in various counties throughout the state.