When there’s no clinic for miles, minefield medics step in

A family is celebrating the arrival of a baby boy in Somaliland after quick action by HALO deminers saved the life of his mother.

Nimico Ismail Hussein, from Bisiqa, delivered baby Ahmed Khadar just after midnight. Shortly after, she developed a life-threatening hemorrhage.

With no hospital or clinic for hundreds of miles, her husband sought the help of HALO workers in a nearby camp. Every minefield team has staff trained as paramedics – a precaution against unplanned explosives.

Administering life-saving medication, the team started uterine massage to control Nimico’s bleeding. She was also encouraged to start breastfeeding to stimulate contractions and control the blood loss. It eventually slowed - Nimico was safe.

She thanks the demining team who saved her.

"Our minefield medics are trained to provide lifesaving first aid in a range of scenarios” says Tim Gargan, Head of Medical Transformation at HALO.

"The quick actions and adaptability of this team to use their minefield training during what was a complicated maternal emergency resulted in not just one, but two lives saved."

Preventable deaths

While mother and baby are now doing well, Nimico’s experience shows that maternal health training is desperately needed.

Decades of conflict in Somaliland has resulted in a weakened and inaccessible healthcare system. Pregnant and postpartum women and their babies are particularly vulnerable, with sepsis, hypertension and hemorrhage the leading cause of maternal death.

With nowhere to turn, communities often seek help from HALO medical teams as the nearest emergency healthcare assistance. For HALO, our presence in remote communities is a unique opportunity to save lives.

Empowering local communities

HALO is now seeking partnerships with healthcare companies and NGOs to deliver specialised maternal health training for HALO medical teams.

Under the plan, our teams will also deliver skills-based training and basic educational resources for communities and the traditional midwives who attend most births in Somaliland. 

The aim is to improve knowledge of pregnancy complication signs for women in local communities so they can get help in time.

A two year pilot project is planned. If successful, we would scale and replicate the scheme across many of the 30 other conflict-affected countries that HALO operates in. 

"Training people to such a high standard doesn’t just benefit HALO staff but has a compounding effect on the resilience of the communities we work in. This lasts long after we’ve cleared the last mine," says Tim.