In my role as the Group Director of Medical Services & Clinical Governance for Cabrini Health Australia, and a member of the Cabrini Global Health Commission, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the Health Ministries’ reports on Maternal & Child Health. As a paediatrician myself, I know only too well the health issues affecting pregnant women and children across the world. So many children across so many countries still suffer from malnutrition and infectious diseases, with birth complications and lack of access to appropriate healthcare remaining considerable challenges – particularly in remote and regional communities. This is why the Cabrini Global Health Commission has Maternal and Child Health as one of its focal areas.
Optimal child health starts with improving the health of adolescent girls and women of child-bearing age, through to careful pregnancy monitoring, access to facilities for safe childbirth and a loving and nurturing environment for children to grow and developmentally mature – with easy and prompt access to paediatric treatments when needed. So, it is heartening to see the initiatives occurring across all of the Health Ministries. From the “Pregnancy Club” in Guatemala to the Gender-Based Violence work being undertaken in Eswatini, it is clear that the Health Ministries realise the key issues and have developed appropriate strategies to provide the best care possible in resource constrained environments.
Furthermore, around a quarter to a third of a million women die around the world every year from pregnancy-related complications, with the majority occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. So, it is with pride that the Missionary Sisters should read about the amazing work in Eswatani and Ethiopia, providing comprehensive care across the spectrum from antenatal care through to paediatric care. The stories relating to Baby Mathew and Phiwayinkhosi Mkhaliphi are so heartening to read. I hope that you enjoy reading the reports as much as I have. God bless you all for the amazing work you do.
~ thanks to Dr. Matt Sabin, Group Director of Medical Services & Clinical Governance, Cabrini Health Australia.