UK parliament’s Commons International Development Committee (CIDC) said in a new report released yesterday, to coincide with Mothering Sunday, that there is a lack of political will to reduce maternal deaths in the developing world, where there has been little change in the last 20 years to tackle the problem.
There are stark contrasts in the rates of maternal deaths in childbirth between the developed and the developing nations. For instance, while one in 8,200 women die in childbirth in the UK, for women in Niger this figure is one in seven, said the report.
Up to one million deaths in childbirth or during pregnancy could be avoided, and the report gives examples. For instance, fewer than half of women in sub-Saharan Africa have any trained medical help when they give birth.
Reducing maternal deaths is one of the Eight Millenium Goals set by the United Nations in 2000. The goal states:
“Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio”.
According to Reuters, the CIDC report said that judging by the current rate, the target will not be reached, it is the one on which the least progress has been made, and that:
“A key factor in this collective failure has been insufficient political will to drive actions to improve the health of women, both at the international and national levels.”
BBC News reports that the committee suggested the problem is hard to quantify because of lack of data from countries with the highest rates of maternal deaths, the tendency to under report them, and because national averages were used. The picture is very unclear in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for instance.
Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the committee, told the press that:
“Whilst the number of maternal deaths for 2005 is cited as 536,000, the figure could be as high as 872,000.”
He said they feared the truth probably lay nearer the higher figure. He said estimates show that for each maternal death, there are 30 further women who become ill, disabled or injured through pregancy, so:
“It is reasonable to assume that millions of women suffer in some way due to childbirth.”
The UK government’s aid overseas should focus on addressing the world shortage of midwives and making emergency obstetric care available to all women, said the CIDC report.
The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) should also help developing countries improve the way they collect medical data, and give more people acess to free drugs and make family planning services more widely available (this alone whould reduce maternal deaths and disability by 20 per cent at least, said the report).
According to the BBC, Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary, said improving maternal health was one of the biggest challenges for developing countries:
“But without reliable statistics, basic healthcare and an improvement in the status of women, it will remain one of the most stubborn millennium development goals to tackle.”
He said there was a “big push” in 2008 on the part of the UK and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who would continue to play a leading role.
Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health at the World Health Organization, Dr Francisco Songane, also blamed insufficient political will for the appalling lack of progress in reducing maternal deaths worldwide. BBC News reported him telling the press that:
“In 2008 we have a crucial set of opportunities – including the upcoming G8 to be hosted by Japan – where political leaders can demonstrate their commitment to strengthen health services for women, newborns and children.”
According to the WHO, more than 70 per cent of maternal deaths are caused by haemorrhage (25 per cent), infection (15 per cent), unsafe abortion (13 per cent), eclampsia (very high blood pressure leading to seizures, 12 per cent), and obstructed labour (8 per cent).
They estimate that one million children worldwide are left motherless every year, primarily because their mothers had no access to or could not afford quality health care. These children are also more likely to die within two years of their mothers’ death, reports the WHO.
Click here for Commons International Development Committee.
Click here for United Nations Millenium Development Goals.
Reuters, BBC News, WHO, UN Millenium Development Goals.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD