Khagrachari, Bangladesh - In the steep, forested hills of Khagrachari, where the nearest hospital is hours away, giving birth has long meant facing risks alone. For 27-year-old Fatema Akter those risks once felt inevitable.  

“I delivered my first baby at home, with no trained help,” she recalls. “That’s just how it’s always been here. I had no other choice.”

Until recently, women in Keyangghat Union had no access to nearby skilled maternal care. The closest hospital was more than 40 kilometres away in Khagrachari Sadar, a journey over rough, narrow roads that often became impassable during rain or nightfall. For decades, childbirth meant doing it alone or depending on untrained attendants.