We sleep hungry: How pregnant women fight for care

A pregnant woman. [Courtesy/GettyImages]

At around 3pm, we arrived in a village in Dukana area of Marsabit County. The sun had dipped past its highest point, the light had softened into a warm glow and long shadows stretched across the ground, which still radiated intense heat.

After five hours on a dusty road from Marsabit town, we stepped out of the vehicle into a wave of heat and the distant sound of women singing and ululating. Down the hill, through the glare, we could make out a circle of women dancing outside a Manyatta. We were told they were celebrating the birth of child, offering support, respect and honour to the new mother.