Universal Access to Appropriate Health Technology Project for Pregnant Women in Rural communities.

According to the UN, An estimated 303,000 women around the world died due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth in 2015. Almost all of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, and almost two thirds of those were in sub-Saharan Africa. These deaths are preventable with appropriate management and care. Globally in 2018, 81 per cent of births took place with the assistance of a skilled birth attendant, a significant improvement from 69 per cent in 2012. Coverage of skilled birth attendants in 2018 was only 59 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.

The under-5 mortality rate fell to 39 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017, a 6.7 per cent reduction from 42 deaths in 2015, and an overall reduction of 49 per cent from 77 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000. The total number of under-5 deaths dropped to 5.4 million in 2017 from 9.8 million in 2000. Still, most of these deaths were from preventable causes and almost half, or 2.5 million, occurred in the first month of life – the most crucial period for child survival. The global neonatal mortality rate has continued to decline after a long downward trend from 31 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 18 in 2017, a 41 per cent reduction.

It is due to these that ,Rural Smile Foundation is working to establishing scan centers that will provide services ( A pregnancy ultrasound is a test that uses high-frequency sound waves to image the developing baby as well as the mother’s reproductive organs) for pregnant women in rural communities through partnerships with clinics. This we believe will go a long way to assist women in rural communities who mostly cannot afford to pay for such services.

We envisage to serve more than 100,000 pregnant women in rural communities by 2030.