Hospital illumination draws attention to need for clean water in childbirth
WaterAid – the organisation promoting greater access to clean water in developing countries – has drawn attention to the plight of women in labour by creating an eye-catching light installation.
Evocative images were projected on to one of Britain’s first maternity hospitals in Lambeth to highlight its message that: “Every two seconds, a woman gives birth in a health centre without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.”
The projection depicted water droplets on the front of what was Lambeth’s General Lying-In Hospital in York Road, near Waterloo railway station. Owners of the former hospital were fully behind the temporary illumination.
Three silhouetted expectant mothers stood in front of the building to emphasise the WaterAid message that 16.6 million women give birth in hospitals and clinics every year without adequate water, toilets and soap, putting them and their unborn babies at risk of deadly infection.
WaterAid’s installation was part of the charity’s Water Means Life appeal, which aims to bring clean water to health centres in Mozambique and around the world.
WaterAid says more than one million deaths each year are associated with unclean births, while infections account for 26per cent of neonatal deaths and 11per cent of maternal mortality.
A quarter of health centres around the world do not have clean water on site, almost half are without adequate handwashing facilities, and four out of five in the poorest countries lack decent toilets.
Tim Wainwright, chief executive for WaterAid, said: “WaterAid’s light installation is a stark reminder of the importance of clean water and toilets for good maternal and newborn health. Without clean water and the associated health risks they can be deadly.”
“Our Water Means Life Appeal is raising funds to help turn the tide on this injustice. We can help save lives and give women and babies a better chance of a healthy future.”
Picture: The projection at Lambeth’s Lying-In Hospital (Picture: WaterAid)
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