Performance-Based Financing project DR Congo, Cordaid (2018)
Cordaid played a major implementing role in improving the educational system in 12 of the 26 provinces of DR Congo. As Technical Assistance Agency we will assist the DRC Education Ministry in applying a Performance-Based Financing (PBF) approach. 1,350 primary schools and half a million young girls and boys will benefit from this.
Women receive pregnancy education from midwives at the health clinic in Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
School bag series at a primary school in Walungu district in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A blackboard in class 1B, Swahili, at a primary school in Walungu district in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Son of M'Biringanine Bahati is born in the Walungu district, health clinic in Congo (DRC).
The headmistress at a primary school in Walungu District in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A class is taught in a primary school in Walungu district in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A nurse checks for malaria at the health clinic in Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The health clinic in the Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Moamin Nanegabe, 20, in the Nbobero clinic near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A 10-year-old boy was taken sick to the Nbobero clinic, it is a clinic near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mathilde Mana Bagabo gets a check up during her pregnancy, at the health clinic in the Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Democratic Republic of Congo, Mathilde Mana Bagabo gets a check up during her pregnancy, at the health clinic in the Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A pregnant woman is checked at the health clinic in the Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Midwives provide information about pregnancy at the health clinic in the Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Midwives provide information about pregnancy at the health clinic in the Kavumu district, near Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Refugee camp Katsikas, Oxfam Novib (2016)
In 2016, Ilvy Njiokiktjien visited the Katsikas tent camp in Greece. She recorded the lives of the families in their tents, with the help of the aid organization Oxfam Novib.
Refugees, mostly from Syria, in camp Katsikas, close to Ioannina in Greece.
Drawing by one of refugees
Refugees in camp Konitsika, a former orphanage.
Refugees in camp Konitsika, a former orphanage.
Refugees in camp Konitsika, a former orphanage.
Refugees, mostly from Syria, in camp Katsikas, close to Ioannina in Greece.
Refugees, mostly from Syria, in camp Katsikas, close to Ioannina in Greece.
Refugees, mostly from Syria, in camp Katsikas, close to Ioannina in Greece.
Refugees, mostly from Syria, in camp Katsikas, close to Ioannina in Greece.
Refugees, mostly from Syria, in camp Katsikas, close to Ioannina in Greece.
Refugee camp South Sudan, Cordaid (2017)
Daily life in the UN refugee camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
Angelo Sigin (85) at the UN refugee camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
Laimona Khamis Mahmud (about 40 years old) in the UN relief camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
Internally Displaced people(IDP) in the camp near the Cathedral in Wau (The Saint Mary Help of Christians Cathedral) Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
IDPs in the camp near the Cathedral in Wau (The Saint Mary Help of Christians Cathedral) Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
People are being stopped from leaving the camp because of shooting in the area that morning. They are now staying inside the UN refugee camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
The UN refugee camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
People are on foot towards the IDP camp in Abroch, South Sudan.
Elena Jacob Bilal (65), has been a widow since 1978, she has rheumatism. She arrived in the IDP camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan in June 2016, together with her 3 grandchildren Fikri (8), Bernardo (6) en Kilnga (3,5).
Nura Taban Martin (20) has two children, Mariam, (not pictured) and her daughter Mutawokil Kpoyi. Her brother Robert Taban Martin (12, in picture) is also with her in the IDP camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal.
Christina Ali Unango (22) with her 8 month old daughter Lina, in the IDP camp in Wau, Western Bahr-el-Gazal, South Sudan.
Every Child ALIVE, UNICEF (2018)
UNICEFS project Every Child ALIVE aims to highlight stories of how practical solutions can make a lifesaving difference and bring us closer to ending preventable newborn mortality. Each story includes a hand-shot portrait taken in a mobile studio (inspired by a newborn photography style popular in high-income countries), and a wider “contextual” portrait showing the mother, the baby, and the solutions that helped the baby survive.
On 8 March 2018 in Mali, Aminata Coulibaly (partially visible) holds her sleeping 7-day-old baby, Mamadou Diakite, in the delivery room at the Community Health Centre in Koumato.
Mother Papri Akhter, 24, holds her 8-week-old baby Masnun Islam (2 months), at the Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU) of the Institute of Child and Mother Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday 18 February 2018.
Mother Celia Virginia Flores Mamani, 37, holds her seven-day-old baby daughter Priscilla Solamita Meza Flores, who was born at the health centre in Yaurisque District, Paruro Province, Peru, Saturday 10 February 2018.
Mother Jannatul Ferdousi, 22, holds her 29-day-old baby daughter Ayedatujannah Tahiat at the Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU) of the Institute of Child and Mother Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday 18 February 2018.
Mother Delgermurun Tsolomon (32) with her baby Sugarmaa Batjargal (8 days), outside her ger in the Alag-Erdene area in Mongolia on the 1st of March 2018.
Mother Bayarmaa with her baby Uuriin Tsotmon (2 weeks), in her living room in Murun, Mongolia on the 1st of March 2018.
Mother Sumona Akhtar Juthie, 21, holds her 47-day-old baby daughter Muskan at the Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU) of the Institute of Child and Mother Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday 17 February 2018.
Muskan (ÒsmileÓ in Bengali), girl, 47 days old, born premature at 6.5 months of pregnancy on 2 January 2018. Her weight at birth was 700 kg, her current weight is 1.2 kg. About 14 per cent of babies are born prematurely in Bangladesh. Thanks to the care Muskan received at the Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) supported by UNICEF Ð and, more specifically, an incubator and oxygen mask Ð she survived. MuskanÕs mother is Sumona Akhtar Juthie, 21, married for the last 6 years to Mijanur Bepari, Muslim, 28 years old. She lives in Panchashar, a district 22 km from Dhaka. However, she briefly lived in Dhaka after the babyÕs birth because the baby was born prematurely and needed special care. Sumona has two children.
Sumona Akhtar Juthie says:
ÒI slipped and fell during my pregnancy and then went into labour. I delivered Muskan at home; my aunt helped me and cut the cord. My father called an ambulance as soon as we saw that the baby had difficulties breathing. She was born at 6.5 months, and was struggling to get air Ð her chest was going up and down, she was panting. We tried to have her admitted at two other hospitals at first, but were turned away. We were told they were full.
At the hospital, she was given oxygen through a mask and was assigned a bed [an incubator] where she spent 10 days. Had we not come to the hospital, Muskan would have died.
I saw the baby and I thought she was very tiny. ÔHow am I supposed to hold her?Õ I thought. But, at the hospital, I was told that so many others [mothers] have babies like this Ð the doctors told me, ÔKeep praying, your baby will be fine.Õ The doctors gave me hope.
I have great hopes for her Ð sheÕs going to be a doctor when she grows up. Just because I couldnÕt study doesnÕt have to mean that my children canÕt.
I felt good, because when I came here I was afraid, but then the nurses told me, ÔYou have to learn all these techniques because we canÕt visit you at home.Õ They also told me to be hopeful and confident, because I could take care of my baby myself. And they were right.
The nurse taught me how to take care of the baby at home Ð she said I should remain in a separate room, just me and someone else, with, if possible, no other people entering, to limit infections. They also taught me how to breastfeed and weigh Muskan. So, I bought a scale that I use for her. The weight increase that it registers tells me she is doing well.Ó
In 2016 in Bangladesh, the neonatal mortality rate is 20 per 1,000 live births. Most newborns die from prematurity (31 per cent), perinatal asphyxia (22 per cent) and sepsis (19 per cent). About 14 per cent of babies are born prematurely. Reduction in neonatal mortality has been slower than reducing under-five mortality. Risk factors such as adolescent pregnancies, hypertension, short birth spacing, sexually transmittable infections, obesity, diabetes, domestic violence and pollution are known to cause prematurity.
Of critical concern to premature babies is that they are born with lungs too small to breathe on their own. The lungs are often filled with fluid (23 per cent of newborn deaths are caused by acute asphyxia). To prevent the lungs from collapsing, doctors inject surfactant into them, removing the surface tension, so that they can expand Ð and breathe Ð more easily. Next, medical personnel manually pump air into the babyÕs mouth until it starts breathing and can be transferred to an incubator. Oxygen is administered through a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP), a form of ventilator that keeps the airways open. A baby can stay up to 68 days in an incubator, until a minimum weight is reached. Babies that were born prematurely cannot keep themselves warm. Many die from hypothermia, a condition that arises when their body temperature drops below 36.4 degrees celsius. UNICEF teaches mothers to use their own body warmth to nurture babies less than 2 kg in weight. The technique is called kangaroo mother care (KMC), for the skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby. The mother wears her baby wrapped in a binder against her breast Ð in an upright position, neck extended, head turned to one side to keep the airways open and enable eye-to-eye contact. All limbs should be flexed like a frogÕs. KMC is initiated at the hospital and should be practiced at the motherÕs home for ideally 20 hours per day. Intermittent care is possible, in the absence of a relative who can assist, for example, but not recommended. The baby should be exclusively breastfed every two hours, to be kept warm and protected against infections. Asphyxia and infections are the two leading causes of death in premature babies.
Providing neonatal care through Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) is a main UNICEF initiative, implemented in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh since June 2011. At the UNICEF-supported SCANU at the Institute of Child and Mother Health (ICMH) in Dhaka, thanks to its life-saving equipment and training, newborn mortality is 8 to 10 per 1,000 live births, the lowest of all SCANUs in Bangladesh. Since 2015, it has admitted 2,266 babies and registered about 4,200 newborns in outpatient care. The SCANU counts 40 beds, but, to fully meet demand, staff say they require 100 more. In the past 12 months alone, 612 premature babies have been admitted to the unit. ICMHÕs SCANU is recognized as a centre of excellence and provides training to all other SCANUs Ð 42 in total Ð distributed across 38 districts in all eight divisions of the country. Cost examples in Bangladesh include one radiant warmer at US $4,000; a C-pap machine at US $3,000; and an Ambu Bag (Oxygen mask for newborn baby) at US $70.
On 8 March 2018 in Mali, a sleeping 24-day-old baby, Youssouf Sanogo, is cradled by his mother, Hawa Diawara (hands partially visible), 18, at the Community Health Centre in Koumatou.
Mother Fatoumata Traore (23) with her twins (nameless, 1 day) in the Referrence Health Center in Bougouni, Mali on the 7th of March 2018.
Mother Masibiry Kon, 34, holds her daughter Malado Diarra, 16 days old, at the community health center of Koumatou, Mali on 8 March 2018.
Mother Kadidia Sangar (37) holds her newborn daughter Nahawa Kone, 10 days old, at the Referrence Health Center in Bougouni, Mali.
Mother Tania Luis Cruz with her baby Yamilet Luciana Cordova Luis (one month and one week), in the health centre in Yaurisque, Peru on the 10th of February 2018.