GDC Stories: Naziga Ledum Bariyima
“My life’s vision is to raise young leaders who will be agents of change and transformation in their society and the world at large.” – Naziga Ledum Bariyima.
Naziga is a Grassroots Development Champion who derives fulfillment in teaching young people 21st century skills that enable them gain access to the global market thereby making them financially independent. His core interests are politics, entrepreneurship and nation building.
Naziga is a graduate of Chemical Engineering from the University of Portharcourt. He is a Chemical Engineer by profession and a Realtor at Bamboo Real Estate.
Consistent with his passion, Naziga carried out a project on “Democracy, Corruption and Good governance” at C.S.S Yeghe, Ogoni. He addressed the issues of bad governance, corruption, and leadership without integrity.
This is why he chose the project;
“I chose this particular project because it defines the problem Nigeria is facing as a nation. We are plagued with selfish leaders who do not care about the people and the development of the nation; leaders who aren’t patriotic and democratic. So, as a way to address this in my own little way, I chose this project.”
In the course of the project, Naziga taught the students on characteristics of a leader, democracy, corruption and good governance, and inspired and encouraged them to vy for leadership roles both in school and outside of school. He ended the project with a mini election where the students selected leaders to be their school prefects.
The project yielded good results as he got positive feedback from some of the teachers as to how the elected prefects were conducting themselves responsibly, which was not the case before.
“Executing this project helped me to connect to the 3 core interests of my life; politics, entrepreneurship and nation building. I want to leave a great legacy for the upcoming generation to follow.”
Naziga has taken action to curb bad governance in his community.
Share his story to inspire someone.
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GDC Stories: Vera Uche Umejiaku
“I believe in helping and uplifting others. It is imperative to note that, what people don’t know they simply don’t know and can’t make adjustments in their lives for a positive change.” – Vera Uche Umejiaku.
Vera is a Grassroots Development Champion driven by impact and legacy, making a sustainable change, and personal development. She is passionate about learning and growing, helping and uplifting others and living a good life.
She is a graduate of University of Nigeria, Nsukka where she had a major in History and international studies and a minor in English and Literary Studies. She is currently working as a voice over artist and radio presenter.
During her service year, Vera saw an opportunity to make a positive impact in her community. Together with her friends; Dike Lawrence Prince, Olorunfemi Temitope, Aboro Blessing, Ogah Daniel and Joseph Moses, Vera spearheaded a “Clean Up” project at Dunama Secondary school, Lafia, Nasarawa state. She chose the project because she observed refuse dumping was one of the prevalent problems around the neighborhood.
In the course of the project, Vera addressed the importance of a clean environment and its effect on the health and wellbeing of the people, and the climate. At the end, the students carried out a Clean Up exercise in the school and its surroundings. She gifted waste baskets to the school to support them in keeping their environment clean.
“I executed the project to create an awareness of the effects of environmental pollution and inspire action in young ones. I am grateful to Do Take Action for giving me the platform and supporting me with the resources I needed for the project.” – Vera Uche Umejiaku.
Vera has taken action to contribute to a healthier and safer environment in her community.
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GDC Stories: Uwakmfon Archibong Nsa
“I studied technical education at Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, because I wanted to be a teacher, but the negative experiences I had as a child motivated me into social work. My experiences gave me the passion to help women have a better life, live in a better world and be financially stable with good skills that will protect them from gender-based violence.” – Uwakmfon Archibong Nsa.
This is the story of Uwakmfon Archibong Nsa, a graduate of Technical Education from Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, who ended up as an advocate for gender equality.
Uwakmfon is a Grassroots Development Champion passionate about building a better generation of young women and girls who will be able to make an informed decision for themselves, take up leadership positions and contribute positively to economic growth.
In pursuit of her passion, Uwakmfon founded Flourish Heart Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for women’s rights and women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship.
Uwakmfon carried out the project “Business Empire” in Esierebom and Afokang communities of Cross River State, Calabar South, Nigeria, where she trained 50 out-of-school girls on cake making, buns making, chin chin making and gele tying. The participants also learnt financial literacy, and how to monetize the skills they learnt.
But this was more than a project for Uwakmfon, she had a personal backstory…
“Growing up, I saw women face hardship and my mother was not an exception. My mother suffered physical abuse, which led to her early death. I was motivated to get into the development space to help young women have a better life and become self-dependent, thereby reducing gender-based violence against them.
This project is connected to my interest, passion and vision because it is my passion to equip women with skills that will enable them to have financial stability, thereby reducing gender-based violence against them.” – Uwakmfon Archibong Nsa.
Uwakmfon Archibong Nsa has taken action to empower women in her community, share her story to inspire someone.
You too can make a difference in your community.
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GDC Stories: Raphael Sani Enejo
“As a programmer, I know the stress that comes with the job. Many tech people don’t have the luxury called fun. There is the imposter syndrome where achieving a task can be daunting especially when the task is not proving successful.
I chose the project on stress, suicide and depression because so many people go around with so much going on with them which they won’t tell anyone even if asked. People have mastered the art of dying in silence. I wanted to contribute in a small way to improve the mental health of people in my community.” – Raphael Sani Enejo.
This is the story of Raphael Sani Enejo, a graduate of Trinity University of Asia in Quezon City, Philippines. He is currently working as a software engineer at Semicolon, Lagos.
Raphael is a Grassroots Development Champion passionate about driving social change in his community.
Raphael noticed the deplorable mental health of his colleagues in the tech community and decided to do something about it. He executed a project on Depression, Stress and Suicide Awareness at the Semicolon Labs Main Office, Yaba, Lagos.
In the course of the project, Raphael held counselling sessions with a renowned mental health practitioner, presided over discussions on the triggers of depression and stress and how to manage it, and organised group activities that encourage openness.
Raphael has taken action to curb depression, stress and suicide in his community.
Share his story to inspire someone.
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DO Newsletter Alert
DO Newsletter Alert
Hello Doers,
We trust you are keeping strong and shining your light of change in your sphere of influence.
We want to officially welcome you to our weekly newsletter, the first of its kind.
Starting from next week, a newsletter will go out every Monday containing details of our impact activities, events, and other cool packages we are preparing for your development, improvement, and fulfilment.
So, keep an eye out.
DO Announcements:
- NYSC Network Launch
We are happy to announce the launch of the NYSC Network, a community built as a support system to help corps members navigate the entire NYSC process.
To join, visit https://dotakeaction.org/nysc
- Career Network Launch (Get Hired Bootcamp)
Also, we are happy to announce the launch of Career Network, a community that supports job seekers with professional training and access to resources for their career development.
To herald the network, DO Take Action is launching its maiden program, ‘Get Hired Bootcamp.’
To register, click http://dotakeaction.org/gethired
DO Events:
Here are the events we have lined up for you this week on Twitter Space:
- Citizens and voters’ engagement, education, participation, and mobilisation
Friday, 11 – 12pm
Hosted by Maxwell
- The importance of social networks and communities in teachers’ professional development
Saturday 12 – 1pm
Hosted by Jacqueline
Last Week in a Nutshell:
Last Saturday, we hosted a GDC Meet and Chill for our hardworking GDCs at Jabi Lake Mall. It was a fun, exciting, and surreal moment for everyone. The GDCs enjoyed themselves, played games, danced, networked, interacted and received surprise gifts.
N/B: Only GDCs that have carried out a project were invited.
Click https://dotakeaction.org/gdc to carry out a project and participate in our GDC Hangout next month.
If you have not joined any networks, here are the links to register:
DO NYSC Network: https://dotakeaction.org/nyscnetwork/
DO Career Network: https://dotakeaction.org/careernetwork/
DO Teachers’ Network: https://dotakeaction.org/teachersnetwork/
Wishing you the best!
DO Take Action.
Keep up with us on social media to ensure you are the first to hear about opportunities and resources.
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Africa Day 2022 focuses on food crises in Africa
Africa Day 2022 focuses on food crises in Africa
Today, Africans and everyone of African descent all over the world are celebrating Africa Day in all shades of Africa; food, fashion, music, dance, art, culture, and diversity. The celebration is in commemoration of the inception of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), which took place on May 25, 1963, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The celebration is usually marked with galas, balls, music festivals, concerts, etc. This year’s virtual concert hosted by popular actor, Idris Elba will see a host of artists perform from five countries: Nigeria’s Davido, Dbanj, CKay, Mayorkun, Yemi Alade, and Reekado Banks; South Africa’s Busiswa and Kamo Mpela; Congo’s Innoss’B; Tanzania’s Zuchu; and Sierra Leone’s Drizilik.
More importantly, the African Union summit is taking place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, between Wednesday 25th and Saturday 28th, 2022, with Macky Sall, the AU’s current chairman, presiding over the occasion.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent.” The focus is to promote food security and strengthen the agro-system in Africa in pursuance of SDG 2.
Hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity are long-standing challenges that have plagued the African continent. These challenges have been worsened by current global happenings like the Russia-Ukraine war, the COVID-19 pandemic and its numerous variants, climate change, etc.
It is believed that the summit and talks will bring to light Africa’s food crisis and profer long-term solutions.
At DO Take Action, we decided to commemorate Africa Day with a clarion call for Africans to quit the waiting and blaming game and start taking action for Africa.
DO is building a critical mass of individuals taking personal and collective action for a better future for Africa beyond the Africa Day celebration. As a result, our change strategy is implemented by Africans for Africa.
We see an Africa where every African, irrespective of country, tribe, age, or religion, is taking individual responsibility for Africa’s change and sustainable development whilst making a difference in their community, and solving key issues facing their community.
Our goal by 2050 is to build an active community of young and old people taking action to solve key issues facing Africa.
Click Here to join this movement.
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PRESS RELEASE: DO TAKE ACTION INTRODUCES DO CAREER NETWORK WITH A LAUNCH OF ITS MAIDEN PROGRAM ‘GET HIRED BOOTCAMP’
PRESS RELEASE
DO TAKE ACTION INTRODUCES DO CAREER NETWORK WITH A LAUNCH OF ITS MAIDEN PROGRAM ‘GET HIRED BOOTCAMP’
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria has over 20.9 million unemployed youths. Yet every year, tertiary institutions in the country churn out over 500,000 graduates.
Unemployment is every graduate’s worst nightmare, and rightly so, given the above statistics. The chances of a graduate getting a job after school get slimmer with each passing year as the labour market worsens.
But the problem is not that there are no jobs at all, but that the teeming population of youths applying for jobs lack the employable skills, competencies and experience needed in the corporate world. As a result, available jobs are recycled among the few skilled ones while millions of job seekers wallow in rejection.
DO Take Action introduces Do Career Network to prepare job seekers with relevant skills to increase their employability and help them get hired.
DO Career Network is a community that supports Fresh graduates, NYSC, job seekers, junior, middle and senior-level professionals by training, preparing, connecting, and providing them with opportunities that enable them to secure jobs, scholarships, lead successful careers and most importantly take action to drive sustainable development in their community.
To herald the inception of the network, DO Take Action is launching its maiden program ‘Get Hired Bootcamp.’
Get Hired Bootcamp is a three-week boot camp that seeks to train and equip participants with the relevant skills that will enable them to become employable and attractive to employers. This boot camp will enable graduates and recent graduates to land higher on the ladder regardless of their background, circumstance or identity and also unlock their full potential and open the doors to new opportunities. This boot camp will also provide mentorship by industry experts and thought leaders who have paved their way to the top.
The Bootcamp will expose participants to the following:
- Employability/Soft Skills
- Basic Office Skills
- Career planning
- Research skills
- CV and Cover Letter Writing
- How to ace job interviews
- Basic introduction to IT.
- Business writing
- Career identities and strategies
- Job application skills
- Workplace competencies
Click here to join DO Career Network and register for the Get Hired Bootcamp.
Signed:
Precious Ebere and Century Favour,
Co-Founders, DO Take Action,
Nigeria.
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PRESS RELEASE: DO TAKE ACTION LAUCHES DO NYSC NETWORK
PRESS RELEASE
DO TAKE ACTION LAUNCHES DO NYSC NETWORK
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was established on the 22nd of May 1973 with the primary objective to mobilise Nigerian youths who graduated from higher institutions both at home and abroad for nation-building and to prepare them for patriotic and loyal service to their fatherland. However, Nigerian youths and citizens perceive the scheme with mixed feelings because of the many hassles, challenges, and hardships corps members face during their service year.
For one, prospective corps members (PCMs) are afraid of being posted to faraway states and sent to interior places as their Primary Place of Assignment (PPA) without any clue as to how to safely get to their destinations.
There is also the fear of being rejected by employers in an assigned PPA. Scouting for another PPA to be reassigned is usually frustrating as the Corps members are in an unfamiliar environment, and could pose a security risk.
Also, there is the problem of getting good accommodation in an area with electricity, water and accessible roads. Few employers offer accommodation to their Corps members, but a greater number of PPAs don’t.
Then, there is the challenge of personal and professional development. Many Corps members finish their service year without a sense of direction. Many go for NYSC confused about how to maximise their service year for personal and professional advancement.
DO Take Action is launching the NYSC Network to help Corps members navigate through the many challenges and confusions they face during their service year.
![](https://dotakeaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Do-NYSC-Network-01-1024x1024.jpg)
The NYSC Network is a community built as a support system to help Corps Members navigate the entire NYSC process, from Call-up letter, to travel, PPA, Allawee, Security, and CDS. In return, they are expected to commit to taking action to drive sustainable development in their community.
Benefits of Joining DO NYSC Network
Get Information
- Get the latest update and information about your Service year from NYSC and other relevant parastatals
Guidance and Support
- Get guidance and support on the entire NYSC process, from Call up letter, to travel, PPA, Allawee, Security, CDS, etc.
Opportunities
- Gain on-demand access to professional growth and development opportunities that prepare you for life during and post-NYSC.
Social Support & Networking
- Social and fun events that afford you the luxury to play, relax, meet and network with smart and interesting people.
Administrative Support
- Get a Letter of Recommendation / Reference, and other ancillary support you need to thrive during and post NYSC.
Freebies, Rewards & Giveaways
- Get discounts and freebies that show how much we value your commitment to making a difference in your community.
The NYSC Network is a must-join community for any Corps member that wants to make the best out of their service year.
Click here to join DO NYSC Network and get the best out of your service year.
See you on the inside.
Signed:
Precious Ebere and Century Favour,
Co-Founders, DO Take Action,
Nigeria.
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Innovating with waste for sustainable, eco-friendly solutions
Ever returned from a trip abroad to Nigeria and was hit by a nauseating feeling once you hit the roads?
I bet you have.
The vile smell from clogged drains and canals teeming with floating cans, nylon water sachets, empty bottles and other waste materials discarded by humans; incessant waste littering dumps of metal scraps; fogs of smoke from industrial and energy plants, bush burning and refuse burning; and every other unpleasant sight you can think of.
According to a Unido report, Nigeria alone generates more than 32 million tons of solid waste annually, out of which 20-30% is collected. The purported Giant of Africa is ranked among the top 20 countries contributing 83% of the total volume of land-based plastic waste in the oceans”.
But this is not only a Nigerian problem; it is a global challenge. But the third world continent is most hit. As a matter of fact, Africa is home to 19 of the world’s 50 largest dumpsites, the majority of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 90% of Africa’s trash is disposed of in unregulated dumpsites and landfills, frequently followed by open burning.
It is clear that Africa’s current waste management practices are causing major economic, social, and environmental impacts. The spike in plastic usage and a lack of trash collection infrastructure is causing an increase in marine plastic pollution, which is harming coastal economies. Poor trash dumping, disposal, and burning are causing greenhouse gas emissions to rise, damaging ground and surface water. It also raises the risk of sickness and causes air pollution, both of which negatively impact human health.
However, the growing risks of inadequate waste management present African governments, companies, innovators, startups and individual entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa with a huge opportunity to launch new and inclusive ideas to respond to waste management issues by seeking gaps in the innovation landscape.
The good thing is that many governments and startups are already taking the initiative in creatively and innovatively managing their waste to provide sustainable and eco-friendly solutions.
TakaTaka, a Kenyan enterprise, has actively managed waste collection, sorting, composting, plastic recycling, and acquiring waste from waste materials pickers. The project has reduced Kenya’s carbon footprints and gas emission effluents, resulting in a cleaner and healthier environment while providing jobs for women and youths in low-income communities.
The Ethiopian government has converted the Koshe dumpsite into a waste-to-energy facility that incinerates around 1,400 tonnes of waste materials daily to generate power. As a result, roughly 80% of Addis Abeba’s garbage has been repurposed for energy generation, with the city providing approximately 30% of residential electricity.
Rubbish disposal and management companies in South Africa have invested in innovative technologies to manage waste collection efficiently. These businesses use user-friendly smartphone applications to facilitate timely service, extra pickups, and bill payments through push notifications. This innovative technology has effectively increased cost-effective garbage collection expenses by simplifying waste material collecting processes.
Though the Nigerian government have refused to be proactive in the fight against environmental pollution, there are many success stories where companies and wastepreneurs have generated creative and innovative waste management solutions. Some companies produce apparel and bags from plastic shopping bags and pure water sachets, repurposing plastics into kitchenware and interior design, recycling tyres into furniture, making fashion accessories out of leather wastes, and creating art pieces from junk metals and tins.
Let us consider some Nigerian wastepreneurs revolutionising the waste industry
Ade Dagunduro
35-year-old Ade Dagunduro, a graduate of Fine Art from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, uses waste materials such as car tyres, scrap metal, rope and plastic to form works of art at his studio in Dugbe, Idaban.
Originally working with traditional art materials such as paint, clay
and wood, five years ago, Dagunduro decided to think outside the box and think of a creative way to do his art. His first work with waste in 2016 was an ox made out of a tyre called The Challenge.
Dagunduro’s latest work, titled Torso, is a female form made from dismantled motorcycle chains – which he picked up from a motorcycle mechanic’s workshop.
Adejoke Lasisi
Adejoke Lasisi, who is in her early thirties, comes from a traditional Ibadan weaving family. She’s now using her talent to help her hometown alleviate some of its garbage problems. Lasisi transforms discarded sachets of drinking water into art by weaving clothing, slippers, bags, purses, and mats out of them.
Lasisi has teamed with many organisations and won multiple grants in Nigeria and abroad to train young people in the art since launching Planet3R, her for-profit company, in 2020.
One of her most popular products is a school bag made from 10% ofi and 90% nylon, which recycles 250 water sachets.
Wasiu Arowolo
Wasiu Arowolo, the son of a mechanic, had always been fascinated with painting, but art was not considered a serious vocation in his Ibadan neighbourhood. Still, he followed it regardless, getting an apprenticeship at Topfat, a prominent gallery and studio, while his companions went to college.
Unable to afford art tools and materials, Arowolo looked to nature for inspiration. His first piece was a butterfly made from tin cans, which he sold for 25,000 naira. He is now well-known for his artwork constructed from discarded materials, and his works are in high demand.
Jumoke Olowokere
Jumoke Olowokere, 42, creates outdoor play equipment for children and ottoman seats, handwashing sinks, garden ornaments to sell at her shop in Ibadan, Nigeria, and even a big Christmas tree of used tyres and bottles.
She celebrated her 40th birthday in 2019 by donating outdoor play equipment to 40 schools in the city, which was created with the kids’ help. They made swings and climbing frames out of old tyres and ropes, decorated with bottle tops. She is the founder of Africa Creativity and Sustainability Hub, where she trains people on how to convert their waste into artworks.
Ibrahim Gbadamosi
Ibrahim Gbadamosi, 42, creates furniture and artwork out of garbage. Gbadamosi, a Geology graduate, resigned from a well-paying career to pursue his dream. He went all-in on art after his first solo exhibition in Lagos’ African Foundation for the Arts in November 2011. He got completely into recycling, utilising carpenter’s debris, bottle caps, and plastic due to his family’s lack of funds and support.
In his exhibition, these days, the personal and political are intertwined as he utilises his art to make bold statements about the current state of the globe. He brings up gun violence in the United States, for example, in his Politics of Violence series, while About Time portrays a truck attached to the US flag dumping weapons.
Olabanke Banjo
Olabanke Banjo, a former writer and digital strategist, quit her job to pursue a new entrepreneurial venture that combined her sense of creativity with an affinity for the environment.
She upcycles tires sourced from refuse centres, incinerators, and individuals looking to replace the ones on their vehicle, as well as those found on the side of the road, to create “artsy and ultra-modern” pieces of furniture, including chairs, rockers, and ottomans that happen to be sustainable and earth-friendly.
Today, she is the founder and CEO of Cyrus45 Factory, a décor company that recycles and transforms used tires into interior design. She is just one among the many youths involved in the same venture like Favour Oluma, Ifedolapo Runsewe, Jumoke Olowookere and a host of others.
Many startups like TRASHit, GIVO, the popular WeCyclers and a host of others are driving social and environmental change through trash collection. They offer an automated system for collecting, processing and marketing recyclable materials in exchange for cash.
The list is endless.
People are taking action to rid their environment from the horrid sight of trash and make cool cash.
You, too, can create and innovate with waste.
Join DO and participate in our projects Innovate with Waste and Earn from Waste. These projects are aimed to educate and show people how to create innovative products from waste and earn from it, thereby creating jobs in the process.
You can as well collaborate with us through sponsorships, partnerships, and donations.
#InvestInOurPlanet
Saving African mothers with clean delivery kits
In the West, when women get pregnant, they gosh about how the baby kicks and are eager to find out about the baby’s gender.
African women have much more to worry about.
An average pregnant woman in Africa is worried about giving birth safely. They are scared for their lives and their babies because of the flawed healthcare system. They worry about affording antenatal and postpartum care. They don’t know how to get money to pay for their hospital bills. And if there’s a complication, they are at a loss on what to do.
It is worse for women in rural settlements, and Healthcare centres are usually located in towns and are inaccessible to pregnant women in faraway villages. These women risk giving birth on their way to the hospital and, as such, enlist the services of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) to give birth in their homes.
However, these rural women do not know that they are putting their lives and the lives of their babies at risk. Research has proven that women who give birth at home are more susceptible to complications that could result in death or life-altering disabilities. Some of these complications include haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders and infections.
Data according to United Nations reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa holds two-thirds of the global maternal deaths. At the same time, UNICEF ranks Sub-Saharan Africa as the region with the highest maternity mortality ratio, with 200,000 maternal deaths and 1.42 million newborn deaths per year.
However, most of the complications that result in maternal and infant mortality are preventable.
Post-partum haemorrhage is defined as blood loss of 500 mL or more within 24 hours after delivery or within 42 weeks of delivery. If a healthy mother is left ignored, severe hemorrhage after birth can kill her within hours. Injecting oxytocin immediately after labor minimises the risk of bleeding significantly.
Hypertensive disorders are a collection of conditions that are characterised by high blood pressure during pregnancy, proteinuria, and, in certain circumstances, convulsions. The most significant complications of these disorders for the mother and child are pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia medications, such as magnesium sulfate, can reduce a woman’s risk of developing eclampsia.
Infection is common in Sub-Saharan Africa. Puerperal sepsis is a term used to describe uterine infections caused by bacteria entering the uterus during labour. Endometritis, myometritis, and parametritis are the three primary kinds.
Let’s dwell more on infection as one of the major causes of maternal and infant mortality.
Infections developed after birth cause 10.7% of maternal fatalities and 23% of newborn deaths. Delivery in the home under unsanitary conditions is a key contributor to neonatal and maternal infections, increasing the likelihood of harmful germs entering the mother’s cord stump of the neonate or birth canal. Tetanus toxoid immunisation for pregnant women effectively lowers tetanus-related neonatal and maternal fatalities.
Clean hands, a clean blade to cut the umbilical cord, a clean cord to knot the umbilical cord, and a clean sheet for the mother and baby to lie on after delivery, as well as two clean towels or cloths for drying and swaddling the newborn infant, can considerably lower the risk of infection.
Clean Delivery Kits as a solution
Research by the WHO suggests that pre-assembled clean delivery kits (CDKs) with instructions for use can be a vital component in improving hygiene at delivery, particularly for deliveries conducted by unskilled care providers. Clean delivery kits promote and support clean delivery practices, specifically the ‘six cleans’ defined by the WHO, i.e. clean hands, clean perineum, clean delivery surface, clean cord cutting implement, clean cord tying, and clean cord care.
Clean delivery kits normally contain just six items: a bar of soap, a plastic sheet to deliver on, a razor blade to cut the umbilical cord, a clean string for tying the umbilical cord, gloves and a pictorial instruction sheet that illustrates the sequence of delivery events and proper hand-washing.
Clean delivery kits have incredible potential for improving the health outcomes of mothers and babies; they can be made accessible to remote villages and are affordable for poor rural women.
For more effectiveness, governments and INGOs should integrate community health workers and traditional birth attendants to effectively disseminate the kits to remote communities and villages far from health facilities.
Public and private hospitals should incorporate the delivery kits in antenatal programmes to inform pregnant women of the benefits and encourage them to buy in preparation for their due date. The health workers can adopt a weekly or monthly contribution payment model so that pregnant women contribute in instalments and can afford their delivery kits even before their due date.
Also, government and INGOs should organise programmes at local and community levels to train community health workers and traditional birth attendants on safe, effective and updated birth practices. Their training curriculum should include how to use clean delivery kits.
What we do at DO
DO Take Action run a project, Mother Delivery Kit. The Mother’s Delivery Kit Project is a campaign to distribute sterile birthing kits for safe delivery in underprivileged communities. The Maternal Delivery Kits are designed for home use by untrained and trained birth attendants (TBAs) and women delivering alone.
The content of the kit and the use of its items are as follows:
Sterile razor blade: to cut the umbilical cord
Soap and water: this is used by the mother in labour and the health worker or birth attendant to wash their hands clean.
Gloves: are worn by the health worker or birth attendant to protect the hands and prevent bacteria.
Gauze: is used to control bleeding.
Pads: are worn by the woman after delivery to absorb blood.
Antibacterial wipes: are used to clean the vagina.
Baby cord clamp: is used to tie the umbilical cord.
Delivery mats: are used to provide a clean surface for the mother and child during and after delivery.
Infant receivers: are used to wrap the newborn baby and keep them warm.
Misoprostol: is a drug used to control bleeding.
Instructional pictorial: this guides the health worker or birth attendant on the correct use of the items in the kit.
Join us in advocacy by becoming a Grassroots Development Champion.
You can collaborate as a company or business with us via partnerships and donations.
Save a mother and child today.