In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the global maternal mortality rate between 2000 and 2017 has reduced by 38 percent with annual reduction rate of three percent. In spite this, 810 women still die every day from preventable causes related to childbirth and pregnancy. Unfortunately where these happen are places where there are low budget allocations for health.
Experts said that Hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality which account for over 27 percent of maternal mortality. Also, preexisting medical conditions that are aggravated by pregnancy, hypertensive disorders also lead to death.
Unfortunately two-third of deaths still occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa. The estimated number of deaths in this region in 2017 was 196,000 compared with 2015 which was 201,000. In Europe where the quality of standard healthcare is better the figure was740.
With the global reduction in maternal mortality rate, the annual rate of reduction in South Sudan, Chad, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and Afghanistan are stagnating. These ten countries have the highest maternal mortality ratio globally.
In the United States, while the global maternal death rate reduced, it recorded an increase of 50 percent, while Southern Asian countries recorded huge reduction in maternal mortality with 59 percent drop. Globally, in Europe this death is recorded in one in 11,900 cases while in West Africa and Central Africa it is 1 in 28 cases.
Experts have expressed concern that the world may continue to experience reduction but there would be inequality with some countries left behind. This inequality would arise as a result of these countries not putting enough needed effort on healthcare budget. For Nigeria and some other African countries, the annual budget for healthcare provision remains less than 10 percent of the total budget.
The target of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by 2030 is to record 70 mortality in every 100,000 cases but Anneka Knutsson of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), warned that the SDG target may not be attainable if efforts to improve maternal health care though focus on the overall sexual and reproductive healthcare is not accelerated.
“Although it is true that more women and children are surviving today, the slight decrease in maternal death between 2015 and 2017 is deeply concerning. The new statistics suggested that SDG target would not be reached unless we dramatically increase and accelerate our efforts to improve maternal health care by bolstering overall sexual and reproductive healthcare.”
She also pointed out that in spite the decrease, huge inequalities still exist between countries which are caused by lack of quality care.
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