Special delivery – Mothers in Africa set to benefit from Wales’ royal gift

 The £1,500 donation, made on behalf of the people of Wales to mark the Royal wedding, will fund a Welsh midwife to travel to Africa to train up to 30 local midwives and teach them ways of making pregnancy and child birth safer.

The First Minister said:

“I have written to the royal couple to convey our best wishes and congratulations on their marriage. Our wedding gift to them will fund a Welsh midwife to travel to some of the poorest African countries, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, to help local midwives make being pregnant and giving birth safer.

“This funding will help save the lives of mothers and babies in Sub Saharan Africa. I am sure the royal couple will agree, this is a blooming marvellous gift from the people of Wales.”

Life for African Mothers has been supporting hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa for 12 years and, during this time, there has been a significant fall in the number of women who die while pregnant or giving birth. The charity provides medication to treat post-partum haemorrhage and runs midwifery training to help local midwives improve care for both mother and baby.

Today, the First Minister will meet with Angela Gorman, CEO of Life for African Mothers. She said:

“This is great news. I am delighted with the First Minister’s decision to support ‘Life for African Mothers’. The charity supports mothers during childbirth and this funding will mean we can send a midwife to hold skills workshops in some of the poorest African countries, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia.

“The initiative is also about a 2 way sharing of experiences. The midwives who volunteer return to their workplace in Wales with new skills they have also learnt from their time in Africa.”