For a woman facing a pregnancy or childbirth emergency, a timely referral to the right facility can be the difference between life and death. But getting her there is only part of the challenge. AMAN works to strengthen referral systems so that patients can move between levels of care quickly, with the right people informed and ready to respond.
In Upper Dir, AMAN helped connect frontline providers with senior clinicians, receiving hospitals, transport support, and blood-donor networks. Healthcare providers can discuss cases with specialists through WhatsApp, referral facilities can be informed before a patient arrives, and field teams can help coordinate transport when needed. This is a very different experience from a system where patients arrive at another facility without prior communication or where unnecessary stops add to delays.
Dr. Jehanzeb Medical Superintendent of secondary hospital Wari described what a connected referral system means for the patient: “If a patient is referred, they are never out of sight and remain under strict vigilance until properly managed.”
For AMAN, referral is not about sending a patient somewhere else. It is about making sure she reaches the care she needs, when she needs it, and that the connection between her providers does not end on the road.