While attempting to reach a health facility in Juba, Poni Margaret, 25, gave birth in the back of a rickshaw. But she is not an anomaly. Long distances and the high cost of transportation mean many women cannot access health facilities and are forced to give birth at home, or in make-shift circumstances, often without a trained medical attendant.
When women like Nakate Stella, 23, can access a health facility, they encounter painfully long wait times due to a lack of trained medical personnel - it is estimated there is 1 doctor per 65,000 patients. What's more, government employees haven't been paid their salaries since February 2016 and have gone on strike. Nakate is among many women who risk their lives as they wait, often through facility power cuts, for essential medicine and blood.
The maternal mortality rate in South Sudan is the worst in the world. Each mother has a one in seven chance of dying in childbirth during her lifetime. The cultural expectation is that girls are married at puberty, often when their bodies are not fully developed, and they are expected to become pregnant at least every three years. This series documents these challenges and attempts to shed light on the maternal health issues facing young women and mothers in South Sudan.
