WUNRN
In Remote Mongolia – Telemedicine Connects Pregnant Women to
Faraway Care
Altanchimeg, a midwife, delivers a baby in
Ulaanbataar, the capital. She provides expert advice to provincial hospitals
around Mongolia through the Telemedicine Network. © UNFPA Mongolia
19 June 2015 – UNFPA - ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia –
Not long ago, 22-year-old Enkhtsetseg would have had to travel for nearly two
days to reach treatment for serious pregnancy complications. Maternal health
specialists were available only in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar – about
1,000 km from her home in Gobi-Altai Province.
But thanks to the country’s Telemedicine
Network, she has been able to receive specialist care through a computer
screen. “We are very happy this technology is available in our hospital, as
it’s something we really needed,” said Enkhtsetseg, whose doctor used the
Network to consult with specialists from the National Centre for Maternal and
Child Health (NCMCH), in the capital. “It’s comforting to know we can receive
quality care in Altai without having to travel to Ulaanbaatar,” Enkhtsetseg
added. Shortly afterward, she safely delivered her first child, a healthy baby
boy.
Mongolia is one of the largest countries in
Asia, yet it has fewer than 3 million people, making it the most sparsely
populated nation on the planet. A journey to the capital for treatment can
easily drain a family’s resources, and the travel is often grueling, ranging
from seven hours to three days on crowded buses, over unpaved roads. These
difficulties are all the more challenging for pregnant women experiencing complications.
In 2007, the Telemedicine Network began bringing critical maternal health care
much closer to home. Supported by UNFPA and the Government of Luxembourg, the
programme connects provincial hospitals with experts at NCMCH. Using software
from partners at the Swiss Surgical Team, local doctors are able to consult
with experts, in real time, without having to leave the examination room.
Today, all 21 provincial hospitals are
participating in the Telemedicine Network, which has the potential to reach
40,000 rural pregnant women each year. Building local capacity And the Network
does much more than simply provide a remote connection to the capital. An
online learning platform was developed with NCMCH, along with training
materials and updated clinical guidelines. “Telemedicine is a great tool to
deliver health care and train professionals in the remote areas of Mongolia,”
noted Altanchimeg, a midwife at NCMCH. To date, hundreds of medical
professionals around the country have received training through the
Telemedicine Network, and new learning and treatment opportunities are
introduced all the time.
A joint course was recently developed with the
International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, teaching
health workers to diagnose complex clinical conditions. And with Auckland
University Hospital, the Telemedicine Network is establishing a training
programme in maternal-foetal medicine. NCMCH is also working with the
University of Hong Kong to support advanced reproductive health services. The
Network is also helping to raise awareness of the needs and concerns facing the
country’s rural and provincial hospitals. “We are very happy that this
technology has helped us to work together with our colleagues in rural
hospitals, and exchange our experiences, and learn from each other,” said
Altanchimeg.
–Tim Jenkins, Tsedmaa Baatar and Narmandakh
Suldsuren
MONGOLIA
– GOBI WOMEN’S SONG - FILM
The Gobi is the largest desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. This desert is the fifth largest in the world.
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Direct Link to Film Segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGAgaGYfrvo
Gobi
Women's Song
Film
by Sas Carey
Set against the background of barren expanses, Gobi Women’s Song immerses the viewer in a
unique women's world in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Five 21st century
nomadic women share the rhythm of their harsh daily lives. They hum the song of
the soul passed down from their grandmothers and at the same time deal with the
pressing issues of the modern world.
Through interviews that span four years, the film captures the
rhythms of the challenging daily lives of Gobi women and their families.
Life here depends on connections—with the environment, community, and family.
The ground Gobi women live on is fragile, incapable of supporting agriculture.
We see that they need to move 4-5 times a year to feed their animals and rest
the pastures. In this way, they maintain a balance between themselves and their
land.
We watch Gobi women make everything they need: felt from fleece
sheared from their sheep, cheese, yoghurt, butter, and dried curds from their
animals' milk. Their staple, milk tea, comes from well water hand drawn up,
carried by metal pail, heated by burning the dung collected from livestock.
They milk their goats and camels. We learn that the tea itself, a brick of
leaves and stems, comes from trading cashmere combed from their goats.
Like their grandmothers before them, life asks everything of these women.
There is no down- time. Nomadic life today is only possible because of
hard-working women.
In this desolate and barren land, as beautiful as any on earth, we
find that the dreams of Gobi women are like our own—they want their children to
grow up and have a good life. They wish for good health. The women, true to
their custom of hospitality, open their lives to us. They honor us with invitations
to go to their land, go inside their homes, and their hospital. In this
sensitive documentary, doctors, bone healers, and single women, share their
hopes and fears, their joy and laughter, their children, animals and even their
births. As we get to know them, we hold them in our hearts. We relate to them.
Yet, we learn that many factors are changing; and we wonder what the future
will bring them.
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