Mobile clinic treats women and children

Akoss*, a 22-year-old mother expecting her third child, lives in the small southern Togoan community of Djagblé. The nearest health centre is a two-hour journey by foot. One day, Akoss noticed her fetus had stopped moving.

“I was very anxious,” she says. “So I was relieved when I found out that a mobile clinic would be coming the next morning to provide free healthcare to pregnant women and children of the community.”

The Baby Moto programme has provided medical assistance to remote communities in Togo since 2017. In addition to educating women on maternal and child health issues, Baby Moto also works with young people on the topic of sexual and reproductive health.

Since its inception, which was realized with the support of the Janssen EMEA Fund (Johnson & Johnson Foundation), the number of births attended to by trained staff has more than doubled. Unwanted pregnancies by school-aged girls have decreased by two-thirds, and pre- and postnatal consultation for mothers-to-be have skyrocketed, increasing by more than 700 % in just two years.

Equipped with gynaeco-obstetric and paediatric health units, Baby Moto provides women and children with a range of health services and education that help put the worries of mothers-to-be like Akoss at ease.

“I arrived early and was attended to by a midwife,” Akoss remembers. “After the examination and tests, my midwife reassured me my baby was doing fine.”

Following the treatment, the midwife provided Akoss with guidance and information on supporting a healthy pregnancy.

Akoss’ experience is one of many that highlights the necessity of making health services more readily available to all members of a community, leaving no one behind.

Swedish online pharmacy Apotea is investing in the next phase of the Baby Moto programme which will include additional interventions such as guidance on family planning.

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