AN OXFAM worker has seen first hand hospital conditions for expectant mothers in Africa on a visit to Malawi.

Sarah Dransfield, 30, from Charlbury, is part of a campaign demanding action from party leaders to end millions of unnecessary deaths of women and children in poor countries.

Last month, she spent a week in Blantyre, in the south of Malawi, to find out why it has one of the highest rates in the world of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth.

One in every 100 pregnant women do not survive, which is mainly due to a lack of trained medical staff. There are just 292 doctors in the entire country, for a population of 13 million people.

Miss Dransfield visited a rural clinic in the Southern tea hills which caters for more than 19,000 people from surrounding villages.

She said: “To put that into perspective, it is like having one small, unequipped clinic, with no trained doctor, nurse or midwife, for almost the population of Witney.

“The nearest hospital with trained medical staff was around 10 miles away up a horrendous pot-holed dirt track.

“Not so bad if you have an off-road vehicle, but to get to the hospital women have to walk. Not only that, they have to walk while they are in labour and if that is during the night, in pitch darkness.”

She added: “The reality is there just aren’t enough midwives to go around. I met a group of inspiring medical students who were passionate about helping women in the poor, rural areas, where the need is desperate.

“But they were sadly the last students to graduate from a free training programme, which is currently on hold while the UK Government looks to find more funding.”

Oxfam is asking people in the UK to write to the main party leaders, asking them to make sure that vital aid money continues to reach those who need it most.

Malawi’s vice president Joyce Banda said: “I was a victim of a complicated birth, I was haemorrhaging. If I had been in a village I would have died.

“We have a most dire need for trained nurses and it is critical we provide better services.”

To find out more, visit oxfam.org.uk