"My name is Solange Ahidjo, I’m 26, Chadian, and I am a midwife working at Doctors Without Borders maternity unit in Aboutengue camp in eastern Chad since January 2024—this marks my first-year anniversary with Doctors Without Borders. My role is to support women at every stage of their pregnancy, from before delivery to post-partum care. This includes assisting those facing potential obstetric or gynecologic complications and, most importantly, being there during childbirth.
At the maternity unit in this camp, I work alongside seven other midwives and seven midwife assistants. We have eight post-partum beds, six observation beds, and three delivery beds.
On average, we witness approximately 30 births per week —around four to five babies born per day—but there are days when we attend seven or eight deliveries. I’ve never really counted, but there are always so many babies born here. In 2024 alone, we managed nearly 1000 births.
Outside the maternity ward, as part of the outpatient care, a dedicated team of midwives and their assistants provide antenatal and postnatal consultations to pregnant women. Additionally, a small core team of midwives operates our mobile clinic around the camp. We also support survivors of sexual violence by providing essential medical care and offering psychosocial support based on their needs."
