Montse DomínguezMunllonch
May 27, 20212 min
Women who are changing our world. Kenya’s Dr Jemimah Kariuki wins 2021 Global Health Award
To Dr Jemimah Kariuki, the recipient of the 2021 Global Health Award by WHO in recognition of her contribution to advancing global health, is a major win for her, but all pregnant women globally.
“Thank you so much WHO and most especially the Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom for awarding the effort and all my colleagues and partners for making it possible. For the young in society, this shows that you can make it! And to all pregnant women the world cares about your life,” Dr. Kariuki took to Twitter to thank the WHO for the award.
Maternal mortality is an issue in many developing countries. Covid-19 brought its own challenges. A study by Johns Hopkins revealed that the pandemic could lead to an additional 1.1 million child deaths and 56,700 maternal deaths in low and middle-income countries. She founded known as Wheels for Life.
"Wheels for Life was a project I founded in response to cries from women who I noted were dying from preventable causes or were coming with complications at the peak of the pandemic because they lacked the means to reach hospitals, especially during the curfew hours imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19,” she said while accepting the award via a video conference on Monday.
The Wheels for Life toll free number 1196 was launched on April 28 last year and in a month’s time, they had received more than 4,000 calls and about 400 women had received the doctors’ assistance.
However, since its inception to date, she said they have been able to respond to calls of 100,000 pregnant women and 98 per cent receiving the help they needed successfully.
About 4,100 mothers have so far been assisted, 945 cabs dispatched and 757 emergency ambulance trips made.
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