Life-saving communication: Innovative radio system improves maternal and child care in communities
To date, UNICEF has successfully implemented a pilot plan with the installation of the referral and counter-referral system in the VEN 911 and in the river clinic.
- Español
- English
The Lower Delta, in the state of Delta Amacuro, is characterized by a complex network of streams through which the Orinoco River flows towards the Atlantic Ocean and whose portions of land are inhabited by small Indigenous villages that live surrounded by nature and also have difficulties in accessing basic services.
When a health emergency arises in one of these communities, the whole family climbs into their gutter, which are canoe-type boats, and sails for days to find a health center that can treat them. Sometimes the time they spend in the water, is the difference between life and death.
Since 2020, in coordination with the authorities, UNICEF has contributed to improving maternal and child health care in remote and hard-to-reach communities in Delta Amacuro. This intervention began with the rehabilitation of river ambulances and then the Type II Orinoco Delta River Clinic, however, there was still a difficulty to be overcome: how would the communities communicate with the state emergency system to ask for help?
As the technology coordinator of the emergency care department at Delta Amacuro VEN 911, Héctor Pátriz, relates, they had many problems in receiving calls due to lack of telephone coverage "communication was quite deficient with the Lower Delta, at least if the river clinic communicated with the VEN 911 and there was no coverage, we could not attend to the incident and we often lost attention to the citizen."
Faced with the need to improve response times and guarantee timely and quality care, UNICEF proposed the implementation of a referral and counter-referral communication system that would connect VEN 911, river health vessels, the communities of Bajo Delta, and the Dr. Luis Razetti hospital in Tucupita, in the capital city of the state. To date, a pilot plan has been successfully developed that includes the installation of the system in the VEN 911, in the river clinic, and partially in the hospital.
"Thanks to this radio system we maintain fluid communication and more precise attention to the people of the Lower Delta. When we receive an incident, we make the link much more directly with the security forces and the entry points for emergency care such as the hospital and the river and mobile units that are installed in the state," explains Pátriz. He also emphasizes that before it began operating, they served an average of 10 people a month and, after its activation, they served between 80 and 100 people monthly.
This innovative system uses 3G ALE technology that enables the transmission of digital data over solar-supplied high-frequency (HF) radio channels. ALE works by scanning available frequencies and modes, evaluating signal strength and quality, and then automatically selecting the optimal settings for communication.
The components that make it up are detailed in the following photographs:
Success Stories
On Sunday, May 12, the date on which Mother's Day was celebrated in the country, twins were born aboard one of the river ambulances rehabilitated with UNICEF support, while the boat was sailing through the waters of the Orinoco River.
Leonardo Simoza, first sergeant of the Delta Amacuro state fire department, works as a paramedic aboard the river ambulances and that day fulfilling his watch, he helped bring the two babies into the world.
Simoza says that a medical team that was in Nabasanuka contacted VEN 911 to report that there was a pregnant patient and that due to her health condition, she had to be transferred to the Tucupita hospital. "We arrived at seven o'clock at night, the doctor suggested that we not stay overnight until the next day, but given the situation of that patient, I decided together with my colleagues to return. They asked me how I saw the patient and I saw that she was in very bad condition and we decided to come."
The first sergeant says that halfway through the birth she began. The first baby was in the breech position and was born at 11:30 p.m. "At 12 when I go to remove the placenta, I touch again to start taking care of it and there I noticed that it was not a single placenta. When I realized in the abdomen part I felt the other lump, so I told the mother, mom, you have another baby." And the second baby was born at 12:03 a.m.
"The two grandmothers and the father came and I gave each one her baby; the one at 11:30 I gave to the maternal grandmother and the one at 12:03 I gave it to the paternal grandmother, they felt very proud, very happy with their two babies," Simosa concluded, noticeably excited to relive the moment.
This particular case is a reminder of the importance of ensuring access to quality health care for all children and their mothers, even in the most remote and vulnerable communities.
This innovative and sustainable project is contemplated to be implemented in 20 communication points in strategic land and river locations previously established with the state authorities.
The culmination of the plan will contribute to access to the right to health of the population of Bajo Delta, especially children, and pregnant and lactating women, reducing emergency care times in which every minute counts to save lives.
