improves mother and child care in Afrika
Hoera! Star-shl sponsored our Mount Meru Foundation! Now we can purchase the first ultrasound device, the Philips Lumify, for our new project in Tanzania. Through this blog we want to take you on a journey along the way.
Star-shl is a chain of diagnostic centers that supports the first line. I am a midwife and work at star-shl as an ultrasound operator in obstetrics and gynecology. I am also chairman of Mount Meru Foundation, a foundation that works to reduce the high maternal and child mortality in Tanzania. Ultrasound plays a crucial role in this.
Women in the Tanzanian countryside are often devoid of good care for pregnancy and childbirth. As a result, pregnancy complications are often not noticed and they are not or not timely sent to a clinic. In many cases, this leads to medical assistance coming too late.
Mount Meru Foundation wants to ensure that pregnant women in poorly accessible areas in the Tanzanian countryside receive the right care and support. As star-shl does in the Netherlands, we want to make good diagnostic care possible in Tanzania.
That is also the wish of the medical director of the TPC Hospital in the city of Moshi, Alyssa Ferguson, who asked our foundation for help. In concrete terms, we want to set up a mobile service that can reach women in remote areas. For this, local midwives who are selected by TPC Hospital should be trained in ultrasound. For example, the purchase of the Philips Lumify, made possible by star-shl, can have a positive effect in practice.
Mount Meru works with the Driving Nurses Foundation (SDN) for the mobile service. Our first joint project takes place in Lower Moshi. SDN already has a 'Mama bus' that visits villages in this region, performs pregnancy checks and provides information. By introducing ultrasound on the bus, the involvement of the pregnant women is increased and a better risk selection is made possible.
With the Philips Lumify we have found a suitable and handy ultrasound device for the 'Mama bus'. Thanks to the support of star-shl and other sponsors, we can purchase the device and get our pilot project speeding. In the future, we hope to further roll out this concept in Northern Tanzania.
In October, a delegation from the foundation will visit Tanzania at their own expense to introduce the Lumify, provide a first ultrasound training and officially launch this project. When you read this, we are in the middle of preparing this trip. Do not want to miss anything? Keep an eye on this blog!
Margriet van der Weel-Roem
Green light, thanks to star-shl
