Halim is around 22 years old and she’s spent her life living in a nomadic village, in the Afar desert in Ethiopia.
It’s a harsh life – dry, dusty and incredibly hot – with no comforts whatsoever. In her community, women often walk for hours to get water before the sun comes up.
Halim was married and soon became pregnant, but her hard life meant she was quite malnourished and her body had been wracked for years by chronic malaria. This all meant her blood level of haemoglobin was very low, too low to sustain her pregnancy safely. By the time she was seven months pregnant, Halim was so weakened with anaemia that she could no longer walk, then stand, and then even be able to talk.
Halim’s sister had problems in labour a year or so before, and a community health worker trained and employed by Afar Pastoral Development Association had taken her to the Barbara May Memorial Hospital (BMMH) in Mille where her life, and the life of her baby, were saved. The family knew that they needed to get Halim there too.
When Halim arrived at the hospital she wasn’t rousable. Her haemoglobin level was only 25% of normal healthy levels. Dr Omer and the staff were able to get enough blood to transfuse and get her healthy again. She stayed at the hospital until she went into labour.
Halim’s labour progressed well, but then she had severe bleeding after her delivery, which was difficult to control. The staff thought they might lose her. We’re all thankful the bleeding was controlled, but Halim still needed another transfusion to be revived.
Halim is now recovering well with her lovely baby girl, thanks to the incredible and dedicated staff at BMMH.
Your donations made all this possible, and ensure the BMMH can continue helping women and babies from the Afar desert.
Thank you to our regular givers, who help cover the running costs of all our partner hospitals.