13 February 2020
For Palestinian women living as refugees in Lebanon, pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a new baby can be a particularly worrying ordeal. Watch our new video showcasing the work of our home visiting midwives
The country’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps and other gatherings – marginalised and separated from wider society in Lebanon – are beset by overcrowding, poverty, and a lack of adequate sanitation. More than 70 years on from the Nakba, when their displacement from historic Palestine began, each new generation of refugees is born into a perpetual humanitarian crisis.
Given the well-documented links between poverty and ill health, it is little surprise that rates of maternal and child mortality and illness remain worryingly high in this challenging context. Access to quality care before, during and after birth can therefore be essential to reassuring new mothers and ensuring the best possible start in life for their babies.
This is where our community midwives come in. For more than 10 years, MAP has provided the only home-visiting midwifery service in the Palestinian refugee camps. You can see the midwives at work in our new film, below:
Would you like to support our Women and Children’s Health programme in Lebanon? Please donate today: