A midwife’s mission to combat maternal mortality

Midwife Fatimata Yakubu, is the founder of the Safe Motherhood Foundation where she promotes sexual and reproductive health among girls. She is currently working with 30 young women who have either undergone unsafe abortions or teenage pregnancy. She hopes that the digital revolution will play a part in making women healthier, while encouraging Ghanaians to openly confront sexual health.

Working in the hospital, I realized that most of the girls that were coming to us were cases of unsafe abortion and unwanted teenage pregnancies. So I decided to develop a virtual platform to empower girls and share advice on how to avoid those troubles. Every day, we get lots of inquiries from young girls. Ghanaian society frowns upon open talk about sexual relations and so there is often is very little information and education on the topic, especially in rural communities.

With the Internet, I can send and receive messages on social media. It offers privacy too. I can respond to questions from girls without ever having to meet them in person. Using email, we stay in touch with our donors and provide training modules for new staff. The Internet has made research so much easier. My work would have been impossible without it.

Maxwell Suuk / Matthew Moore

The #speakup barometer is a DW Akademie project that examines the connection between digital participation, freedom of expression and access to information. Learn more at www.dw.com/barometer