May 10, 2013 By IdaHorner
Esther Madudu- Ugandan Midwife
Last night I had the opportunity to meet Esther Madudu an amazing Ugandan midwife at the center of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)’s campaign Stand up for African Mothers in London.
Esther is an unassuming and when you speak with her, you can clearly see how much she’s committed to her work against all odds!
Speaking at AMREF’S reception in London entitled, SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH FOR AFRICAN MOTHERS, Esther run through some of the challenges she faces, she is one of two midwives serving a population of 37,0000, this is the true meaning of never being off duty!
Sometimes supplies like rubber gloves run out and she has to use plastic bags to deliver a baby, power cuts mean that if a woman goes into labour at night, the only light Esther has access to is from her mobile phone! I don’t know about you, but I could not read a book using light from my mobile phone let alone bring a human being into the world!
Then there is the condition of roads in Soroti,North Eastern Uganda!
Esther told us about the day she had to travel to a woman in labour who could not get to the Community Health Center. Because of heavy rain the previous night the roads had become impassible, but Esther had to get to this woman or there was a real chance of the woman dying in labour.
Esther did not let the condition of the road put her off! She got on her bike and headed out to the woman’s home but soon found that even her bike could not get her to the woman, as the road was flooded!
Esther didn’t give up! She carried her bike on her head for part of the journey and eventually got to the woman’s home
I hope you agree with me by now that Esther is truly dedicated to her work, so much so that the good folk at AMREF have decided to nominate her for a Nobel price!
I would if anyone deserves it, Esther does. To vote for Esther please sing AMREF’s petition at http://www.amrefuk.org/petition
I caught up with Esther following her presentation as I was keen to ask her about an aspect of maternal health that has dominated the news headlines her in the UK, morning sickness. Our dear Kate is in hospital due to a severe form of morning sickness.
Is this something Esther experiences in her day-to-day work and if so how does she deal with it? You can hear Esther’s answer and the rest of our conversation in this video clip
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