Maternal Mortality
Radio Kergheamahn Joseph Kerkulah explores why pregnant women in northern Liberia are dying at such a high rate. Liberia has one of the worst records in the world for pregnant women dying due to complications arising during pregnancy or childbirth. Kerkulah and jhr trainer Bonnie Allen travel to a rural village that does not have a medical clinic to interview midwives, pregnant women, and the families of women who died. The team discovers access to healthcare is particularly difficult during rainy season.
AIRED: First aired July 28, 2009. It was featured on a program called “Healthy Body.” It has since re-aired three times. Furthermore, an extended interview with Maternity Ward Supervisor Comfort Neufville also aired twice.
jhr trainer remarks:
There are several successes in this piece. The reporter Joseph Kerkulah interviewed ordinary women who have never had the chance to speak out before. Normally, he avoids interviewing Liberians who speak a local dialect, such as Kpelle, because his program is in English. I showed him that we cannot discriminate against people due to language, and demonstrated how to translate interviews and edit clips with English voice-over. He also, for the first time, used natural sound in a radio item.
















