Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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COVID-19 Limits Force Ethiopian Mothers to Give Birth at Home

Simon Marks

   ADDIS ABABA - COVID-19 travel restrictions in Ethiopia are forcing
   pregnant women to give birth at home, health workers say.

   For Kenasa Kumera, receiving panicked phone calls from women going into
   labor has become an everyday occurrence.

   Ever since Ethiopia implemented strict travel bans last month to stop
   the spread of the coronavirus, the Marie Stopes International maternity
   center he manages in Adama, roughly 100 kilometers from the capital,
   Addis Ababa, has received up to 10 calls a day from women unable to
   reach his center to give birth.

   The trend, he said, is of particular concern in poor areas with no
   ambulances and where traveling even small distances can be difficult.

   "This morning, one client has called in need of an ambulance. She had
   two Caesarean sections before and she was appointed for another
   Caesarean section," Kenesa told VOA via a messaging app. "She has been
   suffering due to the shortage of transportation and she asked for an
   ambulance. I immediately sent her one. Now she is admitted and the
   third Caesarean section is safely conducted."

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