AMAMÉ Initiative

🪟This may not sound like a shocking story but for us, it is a daily shock.

This pregnant woman travelled from Oinofita Camp to the hospital, at least 1 hour away, for a simple blood test.

She paid for transport, something already not easily affordable. She arrived and was sent back.

Not because the test was complicated or because she refused care, but because there was no way to communicate.

🛑 This is not an isolated case.

Every week, we see women turned away from care because they cannot speak the language.
We have even seen English-speaking women refused for the same reason.

Some hospitals try to provide interpreters, but they are far too few.
In many cases, women are expected to bring their own.
Sometimes, we are called on the phone to translate, if a doctor or nurse is willing to take the time.
Many times, that does not happen.

So she goes back. A tired, pregnant woman, returning to the camp. To try again another day, to pay again, to find someone to care for her children again. All for a basic medical test.

This is what lack of access to care looks like.
It's exhausting, to say the least.❤️‍🩹

Athens