As part of its response to humanitarian emergencies, the Sanofi Espoir Foundation is supporting the PUI’s work in the Bardarash camp in Iraqi Kurdistan.
In 2015, access to maternal and child health services was considerably improved by setting up a unit dedicated to pregnant women in the primary care and health center. This undertaking has been supported by the Foundation.
More than 2,500 women of childbearing age are currently living in the camp. Consultations for women still pose problems, because of a lack of information, and the difficulty for women with children to reach consultation sites.
PUI has therefore decided to solve these problems by setting up a special facility exclusively for women, either pregnant or not, and their children. This mother-and-child center will include medical services such as immunization for children, psychosocial services, and gynecological care. It will also serve as the venue for discussion group sessions that will improve knowledge about sexual and reproductive health through practical workshops.
Refugee women volunteers will also take act as "referents" who can channel access for other women in the camp, and work alongside community social workers.
More information about the Foundation’s work to provide assistance to refugees:
- Improving the health of women and children in a camp in Iraqi Kurdistan (June 2016)
- Improving the health of women and children in Iraqi refugee camps (july 2015)
- Helping improve living conditions among Iraqi refugees (march 2015)
More information about the programs to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality: