SUDAN / MOTORCYCLE AMBULANCES

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SUDAN / MOTORCYCLE AMBULANCES

South Sudan has a new tool in the fight against maternal mortality: motorbike ambulances complete with sidecar and padded bed. They look different, but in remote parts of a country where - according to the United Nations an expectant mother has a greater chance of dying in childbirth, the pilot project is intended at cutting rates of maternal mortality and offering lifeline for pregnant women in Sudan. UNMIS

Duration:03:24 Date:9 April 2009

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Full Script

STORY: SUDAN / MOTORCYCLE AMBULANCE
TRT: 3:33
SOURCE: UNMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE; ENGLISH

DATELINE: APRIL 8 - 9 2009, TORIT, JUBA/ SUDAN

SHOTLIST:

8 APRIL 2009, TORIT

1. Wide shot, Torit town
2. Med shot, street of Torit
3. Med shot, Motorcycle ambulance on street of Torit
4. Close up, ambulance driver 
5. Med shot, motorcycle ambulance

9 APRIL 2009, JUBA

6. Med shot, Peter Crowley, UNICEF Director of Operations in Southern 
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Crowley, UNICEF Director of Operations in Southern Sudan:
“Southern Sudan has probably the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world. One in six women in Southern Sudan are likely to die from complications during pregnancy or child birth.”

8 APRIL 2009, TORIT

8. Med shot, Rebecca John’s home
9. Med shot, Ambulance driver helping Rebecca walk to ambulance
10. Med shot, ambulance driver helping Rebecca into motorcycle ambulance
11. Close up, motorcycle siren 
12. Med shot, motorcycle ambulance leaving Rebecca’s home
13. Wide shot, Torit Hospital
14. Close up, Torit Hospital sign
15. Med shot, motorcycle ambulance entering hospital with Rebecca
16 Med shot, Regina George, Nurse helping Rebecca get down from ambulance  
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Regina George, Nurse, Torit Hospital
“Some pregnant mothers are brought here late time of labor. This is what we have now in Torit. We suffer because outreach we don’t have here, some are brought from 24 km, some 15 km, even within Torit some 7km we don’t have communications. Late hours the mother will suffer and will lead to operation and will lead to rupture of the uterus.”
18. Med shot, UNICEF sign

9 APRIL 2009, JUBA

19. Med shot, Joyce Mphaya, Health Specialist UNICEF talking to Peter Crowley, UNICEF Director of Operations in Southern Sudan
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Joyce Mphaya, Health Specialist UNICEF
 “That will help in terms of reducing maternal mortality because mothers will able to access the services in good time and it is going to reach mothers from home to the facilities in places where the roads are not accessible by ambulances.”

8 APRIL 2009, TORIT

21. Med shot, motorcycle ambulance passing by
22 Med shot, motorcycle ambulance parked
23. Close up, UNICEF sign on motorcycle ambulance
24. Wide shot, motorcycle ambulance driving by

STORYLINE:

South Sudan has a new tool in the fight against maternal mortality: motorbike ambulances complete with sidecar and padded bed. They look different, but in remote parts of a country where - according to the United Nations (UN) an expectant mother has a greater chance of dying in childbirth, the pilot project is intended at cutting rates of maternal mortality and offering lifeline for pregnant women in Sudan.

Unite Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Southern Sudan Ministry of Health have brought new hope of a reduction in avoidable deaths by deploying motorbike ambulances to its remote Eastern Equatoria region.

SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Crowley, UNICEF Director of Operations in Southern Sudan:
“Southern Sudan has probably the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world. One in six women in Southern Sudan are likely to die from complications during pregnancy or child birth.”

According to UNICEF, a woman in the South has a one in six chance of dying during the course of her lifetime from complications during pregnancy or delivery.

The UN says only 10 percent of all deliveries in south Sudan are assisted by skilled health personnel. With lack of health services and transport, most patients are brought in from their remote areas by stretchers.

Rebecca John is one of the first patients to use the motorbike ambulance in Torit. Rebecca is due for her fourth child.

Regina is a nurse at the hospital in Torit. She said that hospital like Torit is among the worst places of maternal mortality.  There are no services for bringing critically sick people to the hospital.

SOUNDBITE (English) Regina George, Nurse, Torit Hospital:
“Some pregnant mothers are brought here late time of labor. This is what we have now in Torit. We suffer because outreach we don’t have here, some are brought from 24 km, some 15 km, even within Torit some 7km we don’t have communications. Late hours the mother will suffer and will lead to operation and will lead to rupture of the uterus.”

With more than 90 percent of the South living on less than one dollar a day, few can afford to hire transport even if they become sick. The new service will be free to pregnant women.

SOUNDBITE (English) Joyce Mphaya, Health Specialist UNICEF
 “That will help in terms of reducing maternal mortality because mothers will able to access the services in good time and it is going to reach mothers from home to the facilities in places where the roads are not accessible by ambulances”

Poor road conditions – or no roads at all in some areas – mean it is difficult for those needing emergency support to reach even basic health clinics. 
In the rainy season, many roads become impassable to heavy vehicles, but there is hope that the lighter bikes will more easily negotiate narrower paths around flooded tracks.

If successful, the pilot project of five motorbikes will be extended to the rest of the country. The motorcycles, donated by UNICEF, cost about US$6,000 each, with space for the patient to sit or lie down on the cushioned bed on wheels, and seat belts for legs and waist.

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