A scary birth experience: Why Amina wants better roads, hospitals in Boni Forest
Lamu Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Medical Dispatcher Diana Mungai with Ms Habiba Ali in Mswakini Village, Boni Forest on July 24, 2024. Right, Ms Mungai with Ms Amina Mohamed in Mswakini Village, Boni Forest on July 24, 2024.
Amina Mohamed, 19, still remembers the fateful day of January 2 this year when she suddenly went into labour in her remote village of Mswakini, in the middle of the dense Boni Forest.
The area is known for its insecurity, much of it caused by al-Shabaab insurgents from neighbouring Somalia.
But on this day, a heavily pregnant Amina lay helplessly on a mat outside her hut. Her older sister, Habiba Ali, panicked when she saw her sister in this state.
In addition to insecurity, the Boni Forest region faces other hurdles – a poor road network and a lack of hospitals and clinics to deal with emergencies such as Amina's.
In Mswakini, there is no hospital or health centre nearby except for the Bar'goni Dispensary, which is about 10 kilometres from the village.
But the facility lacks a maternity ward and even the drugs to treat patients.
The 250-kilometre Hindi-Bar'goni-Mswakini-Boni Forest-Kiunga road has always been impassable, with most sections swampy and others rough, muddy and full of puddles.
This has always made it extremely difficult for motorists to manoeuvre.
The planting of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) along the route by al-Shabaab terrorists, which has claimed the lives of scores of security personnel and civilians, is also one of the problems that make motorists shy away from using the road.
In a bid to help her sister, Habiba contacted the Lamu Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in Mokowe, which is about 60 kilometres from Mswakini.
The Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) with Amina Mohamed (seated) and other residents at Mswakini Village in Boni Forest on July 24, 2024.
Diana Mungai, the EOC's medical dispatcher, took the call and, after a briefing on the situation, immediately sent an ambulance with two officers, a paramedic and a medical technician to the village to take the patient to Mokowe Sub-County Hospital for delivery.
The ambulance reached the village late due to the poor condition of the road.
They picked up a moaning Amina and began the journey back to Mokowe Hospital.
No sooner had the ambulance left Mswakini village than Amina's situation became unbearable. Her baby was born on the way to the hospital.
The ambulance had to stop and the paramedics began to help Amina give birth. She safely delivered a baby girl before continuing the journey to Mokowe Hospital.
The new mother and baby were cleaned and allowed to rest at the facility for two days before being discharged and taken back to their remote village of Mswakini.
Seven months later, Amina has become a road and health ambassador in the terror-prone Boni Forest in Lamu County, lobbying the state to speed up the construction of roads in these areas.
“I thank Allah (God) for the mercy he showed me on that fateful day. I would have died while giving birth. I had to deliver my baby in the ambulance in the middle of the road. I am safe,” said Amina.
She insists that if the roads in Boni Forest were in good condition, the ambulance would have reached the hospital in time.
“Also, had there been good hospitals or dispensaries in this place, I would have been taken there to deliver my baby. And that’s why I urge both the national and county government to ensure the road and health infrastructure in this place are taken care of,” said Amina.
It is worth noting that most of the villages in Boni Forest have no dispensaries after the facilities were closed following frequent attacks by al-Shabaab militants.
The dispensaries were either destroyed or torched by the militants and have been closed since 2014.
Health workers also fled in fear of attacks, never to return.
Only the Kiangwe and Mangai dispensaries are operational, but they are understaffed and have insufficient drugs.
Speaking to Nation.Africa in Mswakini village, Habiba stressed that children and pregnant women have borne the brunt of the shortages, with limited access to antenatal and postnatal clinics.
Women's only option is to rely on traditional birth attendants (TBAs).
“Apart from improving the road network and building health centres, we also want to see those facilities well equipped with both drugs and the personnel. [If this is not possible], they can also train and equip our TBAs,” she said.
On Wednesday, a team from the Lamu County Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) led by the Director of Disaster Risk Management, Shee Kupi, visited Boni Forest to check on the mother and child they rescued seven months ago.
Mr Kupi told Nation.Africa that the team decided to visit the family to see how they were faring in terms of their health.
The move is also to ensure the smooth running of the programmes to the satisfaction of the community.
“We’re here in Mswakini in Boni Forest to check on the mother and baby. They’re doing well. The practice of going back to the response scene is an innovative initiative by the Lamu EOC that seeks to check on the status of the evacuated person. This also helps us to evaluate the performance of the responding team through a feedback mechanism as well as building the confidence of our community over our humanitarian operations,” said Mr Kupi.
He added, “The move is part of Governor Issa Timamy’s commitment to ensuring a peaceful and healthy community.”
