Leicester academic featured on UNs disaster risk reduction website

A lecturer in Risk Management in our School of Business has featured on the United Nation’s International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction website PreventionWeb to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October.

Dr Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett’s (pictured) project involving the reproductive health in parts of South Asia which have experienced heavy floods looks at the real issues and challenges faced by pregnant women in the worst affected areas, such as Bangladesh.

These issues include diseases, infections, stress, transport, clean drinking water, food, access to safe and timely healthcare facilities – to name but a few.

The project involved medically training health care providers prior to the monsoon season to improve the sexual and reproductive healthcare services during floods.

Additionally, a two-day training Orientation Programme was held for 90 different health service providers to raise awareness on safe and unsafe reproductive health practices and Reproductive Health Kits were made available in health clinics – a single kit able to cater for the estimated needs of 30,000 people for 3 months. These kits are used to treat the complications arising from miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) and from unsafe induced abortion during the time of flood.

The project is funded by the International Planned Federation's (IPPF) Innovation Programme and IPPF's SPRINT Initiative. More information available here