Well on Their Way believes that no matter where in the world a pregnant woman presents to deliver her baby, she should leave that facility alive and in good health, with a healthy baby in her arms.

With your support this giving season, you can help us fulfill our mission. 

Previously the medical arm of STEP-UP (Sustain, Train, Educate, Promote – Uganda Project), Well on Their Way is a group of American physicians working together with Ugandan clinicians to improve delivery outcomes of mothers and babies in Gulu District in northern Uganda, a region previously torn apart by a 20-year war. Based on data from UNICEF, although rates of maternal and newborn mortality are decreasing, a mother and her newborn in Gulu District are still approximately ten times more likely not to survive childbirth than a mother and newborn in the United States. 

Since 2013, our team has worked to reduce newborn and maternal/ mortality by making sure that every health care provider, whether a clinical officer, midwife or nurse, in even the most remote two room clinic has the equipment, skills, and knowledge to correctly identify and manage maternal and newborn emergencies.  

We have done this by providing five evidence-based training programs developed by the WHO specifically for resource poor countries:

• Helping Babies Breathe (providing immediate ventilation for babies born with asphyxia)
• Essential Care of Every Baby (important care and assessment within the first 24 hours of life)
• Bleeding After Birth (management of the mother with post-partum hemorrhage)
• Essential Care for Labor and Delivery
• Pre-Eclampsia/Eclampsia (identifying, managing and appropriately referring this life-threatening illness)

We train trainers, who have trained over 100 local health care providers at 26 health centers scattered miles from each other in this very remote, impoverished region.  As you know, however, knowledge and skills get lost if they are not periodically refreshed.  Our next focus will be twofold:

• Providing the means for every health care worker to keep his/her skills and knowledge updated, through rotating eight week refresher courses, right at the worker’s own health center. 
• Providing training of the five core curricula annually to every newly hired nurse, midwife and clinical officer in Gulu District.

Equipment, training, transportation…they all cost money, but your dollar goes a long way in Uganda.  See how your donation works: 

Check out this video to hear from our Ugandan colleagues about our impact!

Please join us in making sure that every mother and baby in Gulu District receives appropriate care at delivery giving them the best chances for a healthy start …so they are Well on Their Way...and make your contribution even more powerful by sharing this via email, word of mouth, and social media.

Thank you, Asante sana, Afoyo

The Well on Their Way team