Margaret Titty Mannah-Macarthy is a Sierra Leonean midwife. She was, according to the UNFPA, one of the driving factors behind the professionalization of midwifery in Sierra Leone.
Margaret Titty Mannah-Macarthy is a Sierra Leonean midwife. She was, according to the UNFPA, one of the driving factors behind the professionalization of midwifery in Sierra Leone.
Margaret Mannah Macarthy has worked as a midwife in Sierra Leone throughout her career, including under the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Mannah-Macarthy pushed for the establishment of two training schools for midwives, and was an important factor behind a sevenfold increase in graduation rates for midwives in the country between 2010 – when the number was fewer than 100 – and 2018. In this regard, UNFPA has seen her as an instrumental factor for scaling up the midwife profession in Sierra Leone. [1]
She has also worked as a midwife adviser for UNFPA, [2] [3] [4] being employed by the UNFPA Sierra Leone office. [5]
Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many countries, midwifery is a medical profession. A professional in midwifery is known as a midwife.
A traditional birth attendant (TBA), also known as a traditional midwife, community midwife or lay midwife, is a pregnancy and childbirth care provider. Traditional birth attendants provide the majority of primary maternity care in many developing countries, and may function within specific communities in developed countries.
Koinadugu District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the largest District in Sierra Leone in geographical area, and one of the least densely populated. Its capital and largest city is Kabala, which is also one of the main cities in Northern Sierra Leone. The District of Koinadugu has a population of 404,097, based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census; and has a total area of 12,121 km2 (4,680 sq mi). Koinadugu District is subdivided into eleven chiefdoms.
Available healthcare and health status in Sierra Leone is rated very poorly. Globally, infant and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest. The major causes of illness within the country are preventable with modern technology and medical advances. Most deaths within the country are attributed to nutritional deficiencies, lack of access to clean water, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, anemia, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first cases were recorded in Guinea in December 2013; the disease spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, with minor outbreaks occurring in Nigeria and Mali. Secondary infections of medical workers occurred in the United States and Spain. Isolated cases were recorded in Senegal, the United Kingdom and Italy. The number of cases peaked in October 2014 and then began to decline gradually, following the commitment of substantial international resources.
An Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone occurred in 2014, along with the neighbouring countries of Guinea and Liberia. At the time it was discovered, it was thought that Ebola virus was not endemic to Sierra Leone or to the West African region and that the epidemic represented the first time the virus was discovered there. However, US researchers pointed to lab samples used for Lassa fever testing to suggest that Ebola had been in Sierra Leone as early as 2006.
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery.
Dr. Aisha Fofana Ibrahim is a Sierra Leonean activist, feminist scholar, researcher and practitioner in Gender and Development.
Adjoa Amana is a Ghanaian former official within World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), credited by UNFPA as being the "driving force behind the first behaviour change campaign to significantly reduce HIV prevalence." The campaign was called the Ugandan Information, Education and Communication Campaign (IEC) or the Health Education Campaign, and Adjoa Amana was its driving force between 1987 and 1990. She became aware that the prominent Ugandan singer Philly Lutaaya had AIDS. This was used in the communication campaign to make sure "AIDS had a face". Her and Lutaayas work was covered in the TV program "FRONTLINE / AIDS Quarterly Special Report; Born in Africa".
Sivananthi Thanenthiran is a Malaysian writer and feminist, who is the executive director of ARROW, the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women.
Munira Shaʻban is a Jordanian midwife who pioneered education on family planning and maternal health in Jordan.
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Barbara E. Kwast is an epidemiologist, midwife and educator. Her research on the cause of maternal deaths has, according to the UNFPA, contributed to reducing the maternal mortality rates in the world.
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Halima Yakoy Adam is a Chadian paralegal. Drugged and strapped to an explosive device, she was forced into a crowded market in Bol, Chad on 22 December 2015. She lost two legs, but survived. After rehabilitation, she studied to become a paralegal. After that, she has worked to help other women survivors of violence in Chad.
Joy Marini is an American executive who is currently the philanthropic director of Johnson & Johnson's international philanthropy for maternal and infant health, violence against women, and gender inequality.
Alejandra Teleguario Santizo is a Guatemalan feminist and activist for women's and children's rights and sexual and reproductive rights.
Victoria Kanu is a Sierra Leonean poet, better known under her pen name Vicky the Poet. She rose to fame after reading an elegiac poem for the victims of the 2017 Sierra Leone mudslides. At several occasions, she presented her poetry in front of the former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma. She has been named one of the 50 most influential people in Sierra Leone.
Lebogang Brenda Motsumi is a South African HIV activist and writer. She has been named a "Youth Hero" by the African Union, and she is a member of youth advisory boards at both the UNFPA and the African Union.