Midwife wins work placement in Sierra Leone

Ms Vowles chose to work with Health Unlimited in Sierra Leone, which currently has the lowest life expectancy in the United Nations Human Development Index, with complications during pregnancy being the number one killer of girls aged 15-19. Health Unlimited aims to improve infrastructure and general antenatal and postnatal care to reduce this statistic.

Ms Vowles will use her skills as a midwife and her understanding of disease prevention and healthcare to reduce child and maternal mortality by providing training for midwives.

She plans to provide training in safe motherhood, basic emergency obstetric care, malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory infections, alongside preventive health measures, such as exclusive breastfeeding, reducing malnutrition and accessing family planning, antenatal and postnatal care.

Ms Vowles will also provide training and support for auxiliary health personnel such as maternal and child health aides and will work closely with traditional birth attendants, untrained women who help to deliver babies at home.

With the Vodafone Foundation’s support Ms Vowles has high hopes for the future of her charity: “As a midwife I feel extremely happy to be able to work for a whole year with Health Unlimited to help make childbirth safer and improve health for women and children in Sierra Leone. Because of the fantastic support of the Vodafone Foundation, Health Unlimited gained a trained midwife for one year and I can try to really make a difference.”

The Vodafone Foundation gives each winner’s chosen charity up to £45,000 to cover their salary and expenses so they can spend an entire year working abroad in their placement.

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