Pole and blanket offer best chance of survival

A wooden pole and a blanket form the emergency transport women in remoter areas of Manipur, India, have to rely on if complications arise during their pregnancies. The patient lies on the blanket, the two ends are tied to the pole, a supporting strip of cloth is fastened round the middle, two men hoist the sling (or Ngabongkhao) on their shoulders and carry the patient to hospital. Population growth and unemployment have forced many people to subsistence farming in remote locations in the India-Myanmar border area, reports Dr. Angom Russia, medical officer of the community health center at Imphal, Manipur. When obstetric emergencies occur, women may have to walk for up to three hours to the nearest road and then hope that a vehicle comes along, picks them up, and takes them to the nearest health center. The Ngabongkhao may represent their best chance of survival.