Afghanistan has the worst rate of maternal mortality[1] in the world, a devastating fact that could potentially be reversed with the recently developed donkey ambulance.


One in 11 women in Afghanistan die of causes related to pregnancy and birth[2] during her childbearing years, according to WHO, mainly due to issues related to poverty, cultural barriers and inaccessibility to proper medical care.


To at least eliminate one problem -- the fact that many pregnant women don’t have access to transportation that could take them over the rocky Afghanistan terrain to medical centers when they’re giving birth – HealthProm, a British charity that’s working to reduce child and maternal mortality and designer Peter Muckle invented the donkey ambulance[3] , so that they can travel safely to a hygienic center.


donkey ambulance


Photo: HealthProm/Facebook [4]


Since there is an abundance of donkeys in Afghanistan, and they’re able to handle traveling through the area’s mountainous terrain, Muckle figured attaching a secure saddle to the animal could safely, and inexpensively, get a woman in labor to the hospital.


The saddle, where the woman sits, is composed of inflatable camping cushions and the U-shaped support is made of a pool lounger. [5] The entire contraption costs about $100 to make.


Muckle told the BBC that he’s gotten a “positive” response from women who have used it and hopes local developers will recreate the product once it takes off.


"It's a pattern that I've made, so it's something that we are not selling really as a saddle -- we're giving the pattern to people to copy," Muckle told the Atlantic. [6] "So the idea is to make it a simple pattern that works very well [and] that people can make themselves."


Feeling inspired? Find out how you can support HealthProm's mission to bring donkey ambulances to Afghanistan here. [7]



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  • More than 280,000 mothers die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth each year. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • Approximately 40 million women give birth without a trained health professional each year. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • An estimated 2 million women give birth alone each year. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • More than 1 million newborn babies die in their first day of life each year. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • Nearly 3 million newborns will not survive their 1st month of life each year. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • 330,000 newborns were infected with HIV in 2011. ("Issue Brief: Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission." <a href="http://www.Pedaids.org" target="_blank">Pedaids.org</a>. Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.)




  • Pneumonia and diarrhea claim almost 2 million young lives each year. (Pneumonia and Diarrhea: Tackling the World's Deadliest Diseases for the World's Poorest Children. UNICEF).




  • 6.6 million children will not live to celebrate their 5th birthday each year. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • Every year birth attendants w/ basic resuscitation skills could save 229,000 newborns. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)




  • Every year 1 million lives could be saved with improved nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life. ("State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2013: Surviving the First Day." Save the Children.)