AMONG REFUGEES FLEEING KOSOVO, LIVES OF MOTHERS AND NEWBORNS AT RISK, UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND STATES
Press Release
POP/723
AMONG REFUGEES FLEEING KOSOVO, LIVES OF MOTHERS AND NEWBORNS AT RISK, UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND STATES
19990409 NEW YORK, 9 April (UNFPA) -- The lives of pregnant women and newborns are at particular risk among refugees fleeing Kosovo, said an adviser to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Tirana who has been assessing the health needs of women and babies in the region."There have been a significant number of women giving birth on the road in harsh conditions, resulting in the deaths of newborn infants", said Dr. Manuel Carballo. "Most of the refugees are women and children, and many of the women are pregnant or are breastfeeding." The UNFPA estimates that of 350,000 refugees, approximately 35,000 women are either pregnant or breastfeeding and in need of pre- and post-natal care and that there will be approximately 500-700 births a month among the refugees. These figures are estimates based on the profile of the refugee population and the birth rate among Kosovo Albanians.
Yesterday (8 April), the UNFPA sent emergency reproductive health kits, including equipment for safe deliveries. The kits will provide emergency reproductive health supplies for approximately 350,000 people for a period of three to six months. They will arrive in Tirana on Saturday (10 April). The kits include clean delivery supplies for women who give birth in areas without medical facilities. These kits include basic materials like soap, plastic sheeting, pictorial instructions and a razor blade for cutting the umbilical cord of a newborn. They also include equipment for medical personnel to use in field clinics when treating complicated pregnancies and deliveries.
"I met a woman in the Mullet refugee camp near Tirana who gave birth late Wednesday (7 April), she had been on the road for over a week", said Dr. Carballo. "She was extremely exhausted and highly stressed, not only because of what she had gone through in fleeing her home, but knowing that she was about to deliver and not knowing what conditions would be available to her." "Conditions at Mullet are very poor, it's a converted military barracks with poor lighting, ventilation and sanitation. It's also overcrowded, and medical facilities are overstretched. It's very difficult for camps like this to cater for the special needs of mothers and babies", Dr. Carballo said.
"The equipment that UNFPA is sending to field clinics will allow them to perform safe deliveries. At the moment, women who have complicated deliveries or pregnancies have to be taken over poor roads to hospitals, this can be
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hazardous for the life of both mother and baby", he said. "We're also concerned about the nutritional condition of pregnant women," added Dr. Carballo. "Yesterday (8 April) was the first day refugees at Mullet received warm food. In the longer term, poor nutrition can lead to serious problems for pregnant women and in low birth weight and congenital abnormalities in their babies."
The UNFPA is also sending reproductive health supplies and surgical equipment to Albania's overstretched maternity hospitals.
For more information about UNFPA's work with Kosovo refugees, contact Corrie Shanahan in New York, tel. (212) 297-5023.
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