Many pregnant women receive antimalarial medication to safeguard the lives of their unborn children during mobile clinics
Every month, a MAF Tanzania flight transports nurses to the most remote villages in the north of Tanzania with no medical facilities to offer maternal and child healthcare to pregnant women, mothers, and children in the region.
MAF Tanzania Pilot, Peter Griffin transported a team of four nurses to a clinic in Gorimba village. There was a massive turnout as many women came to receive the most vital healthcare services. Among the services offered are physical assessments, pre-and post-natal care, newborn care, folic acid supplementation, family planning, nutrition counselling and antimalarial drugs. Folic acid supplementation is given to pregnant women to prevent birth defects in the unborn child.
“The MAF aircraft we use to transport nurses to different villages send an invitation to the people in the region by their sound in the air, causing an excitement that makes people come in large numbers to the clinics,” said Petro Israel, a registered nurse at Haydom Hospital. “The clinics we run in the five villages are going on well and we can serve many people.
The MAF aircraft we use to transport nurses to different villages send an invitation to the people in the region by their sound in the air, causing an excitement that makes people come in large numbers to the clinics.
Malaria Situation in Tanzania
During the Haydom medical clinics, MAF Tanzania brings nurses to the mobile clinics to administer antimalarial drugs among other treatments to pregnant women.
Malaria in pregnant women can be more severe than in others and it may also be transmitted from a mother to her unborn infant. Malaria can increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including prematurity, spontaneous abortion, and stillbirth.
According to United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in Tanzania malaria is considered a major public health problem with the entire population at risk of infection. On the Tanzanian Mainland, more than 26 per cent of all outpatient visits are attributable to malaria, resulting in an estimated 7.7 million confirmed and clinical malaria cases annually.
