ABC News Report Transcript : April 9, 2007

'Key to the World' Learns What a Simple Piece of Plastic, Soap and Gloves Can Do to Help Pregnant Women

Long before Bono, more than a century before Angelina Jolie, there was David Livingstone -- the first celebrity determined to save Africa. The Scottish missionary doctor became a 19th-century megastar by exploring "the dark continent" and bringing to Europe tales of fantastic beasts and natural wonders like the majestic Victoria Falls.

But what really drove Livingstone was his compassion for the people of Africa and a zealous belief that their lives could improve if only modern commerce could take hold. One hundred and fifty years later, ABC News set out from the town of Livingstone, Zambia -- named after this famed explorer -- for the second part of the "World News" series, "Key to the World." The only sure sign of 21st-century progress we saw was a cell phone tower disguised as a tree.

Today Zambia should be better off economically. It is a country rich in natural resources and unburdened by war. In the late 1960s this country was the third-largest producer of copper in the world, but when copper prices crashed in 1975, the Zambian economy crashed as well. The 7 million people in Zambia now grow what they can to survive. In addition to a struggling economy, the population of Zambia has also been hit hard by AIDS. Village girls sell themselves to truckers who spread HIV along their routes while officials battle the myth that sex with a virgin cures AIDS.

The virus is a big reason the life expectancy for people born in this country is 37 years. Inadequate health care is another. In vast areas of Zambia, with no doctors and few roads, even minor health problems can turn dire. In Chikankata, we witnessed patients walk from as far as 45 miles away to the nearest hospital. The lucky ones get a ride in an ox cart.
Simple Idea Saves Lives at Birth

The average woman in Zambia delivers six children. Sadly, the infant morality rate in Zambia is so high that only three of those children are likely to survive. Many parents in Zambia wait a week before naming their baby so they don't grow too attached.

ABC News met one 9-day-old baby named Woosico. Her mom delivered her by C-section at a Salvation Army clinic -- putting her in the very fortunate minority. Three out of four women never make it to the hospital, giving birth on the dusty ground or on the road, many using saw grass to cut their baby's umbilical cord. Adding to the difficulty of childbirth in this poor country is a severe shortage of trained doctors.

"We know what causes a woman to die -- bleeding, infection, obstructed labor," local doctor Ruben Mbewe explained. "So if those women who have those complications have access to a health facility -- with a skilled attendant -- it would help us a lot."

So the Zambian government relies on midwives -- who have the most basic training. They receive no payment aside from the occasional chicken, or a girl named after them in gratitude.
Out of this extraordinary need, came a simple idea known as clean birth kits -- or CBKs -- sealed plastic bags with contents that could mean life for mother and child.

The CBKs include candles and matches, half a bar of soap, surgical gloves, a razor blade and clamp for the umbilical cord, and a sheet of plastic to go between the mother and the earth. Some even include a cartoon manual on how the kits should be used. It seems so simple, but a woman who uses this kit is 13 times more likely to survive her labor.

ABC News met one woman named Aonnet, who used a sterile blade and gloves in her delivery. She couldn't afford the 60 cents to purchase a full kit and officials found that giving away the kits for free made the program less effective.

Women are more likely to use a kit they've purchased and a small markup allows the midwife to earn a small profit which makes it possible for her to buy more kits.

At the hospital in Chikankata, there was a sign that laid plain the dire state of health care in Zambia: "The community is directed to bury bodies of their relatives within three days of death. This measure is meant to reduce congestion in our mortuary."

This message stands in stunning contrast to the women who purchase the CBKs, which provide them with a clean piece of plastic, a bit of knowledge and a fighting chance.

(Source: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Travel/Story?id=3024238&page=1)