Postcards: Haiti hospital cares for kids amid gang violence, hunger and scarce aid
OCTAVIO JONES and HAROLD ISAAC, of Reuters, report from Port-au-Prince…
Sudan conflict: Dozens of babies die in orphanage as Sudan war takes grim toll on Khartoum
In a special report, MAGGIE MICHAEL, of Reuters, speaks with those fighting to keep the infants living in Sudan’s largest orphanage alive in the midst of conflict…
Women stranded in Pakistan floods take risky trips to give birth
Sehwan, Pakistan Reuters Rubina Mallah took a perilous, three-hour boat journey across flood waters to get to the nearest hospital in time to give birth to her baby son, as the roads leading to the clinic in the southern Pakistani city of Sehwan were submerged. The 27-year-old is one of tens of thousands of pregnant […]
Families confront horror after 11 babies die in Senegal hospital fire
Tivaouane, Senegal Reuters Three weeks ago, Ramata Gueye died after giving birth to a son, Mohamed, seven months into her pregnancy. On Thursday, her bereaved husband El Hadj Gueye learnt that Mohamed was one of 11 babies killed by a fire in a hospital neonatal ward. The couple had been trying for a baby for […]
Call for more midwives as millions die in childbirth
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Midwives are routinely “overlooked and ignored” despite saving millions of lives a year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, urging the world to hire more women and safeguard new life. In a joint report compiled with medics, the UN said urgent investment was needed to plug a global shortfall of some […]
South Africa’s plan to record all babies’ biometrics raises privacy fears
Johannesburg, South AfricaThomson Reuters Foundation Plans to photograph and fingerprint every baby born in South Africa for a digital register could lead to data leaks and identity theft without robust safeguards, rights experts said on Thursday. The Department of Home Affairs’ new draft policy aims to capture detailed biometrics – unique physical traits – of […]
Kenya makes hospital arrests as it probes child trafficking ring
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Kenya said on Wednesday it had arrested three hospital staff in a probe into the theft and sale of babies, accusing some public hospitals and care homes of colluding with organised crime. Authorities acted after a BBC investigation revealed how Kenyan child trafficking syndicates – from street clinics to a government-run […]
STOLEN AND SOLD: ARMENIA PROBES BABIES LOST TO EUROPE
NVARD HOVHANNISYAN and UMBERTO BACCHI report for Thomson Reuters Foundation on an illegal adoption scandal in Armenia…
More newborns dying in West and Central Africa as world “fails poorest babies”
Thomson Reuters Foundation More babies are dying each year in West and Central Africa even as child health improves overall, aid agencies said on Tuesday, calling the region’s newborn death rate a “hidden tragedy”. Five of the 10 most dangerous countries to be born are in West and Central Africa, with infants there 50 times […]
UNICEF calls for more action to ensure newborns survive first days
With almost 386,000 babies expected to be born on the first day of 2018, UNICEF has urged the world to do more to ensure they survive their first days of life. While many of the babies will survive, the UN Children’s Fund noted that during 2016 an estimated 2,600 children died within 24 hours of […]