Light After Dark
Cal State East Bay's Solar Suitcase project changes lives, saves lives
Today I am back in Nigeria — this time in Kano, a city of 10 million people and a maternal mortality rate that robs the lives of 1,250 women for every 100,000 live births.
One community health officer described a breech delivery at night, and the danger of using candles. She was unable to see adequately under the dim luminance of a kerosene lantern and called to the patient’s husband to ask him to hold a candle for better illumination. This barely improved the lighting in the room and at two times the patient screamed out when hot wax dripped onto her skin …