2023-05-09 19:00:48
- According to the WHO, a woman or baby dies every seven seconds in the world from causes that are preventable or treatable with adequate health care.
- The global maternal mortality figure is the same since 2015 due to decreased investment in maternal and child health.
- Health systems worldwide are under great pressure due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in poverty and the exacerbation of humanitarian crises.
The effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has left is not only limited to infections and deaths but also to other items. Its impact has left health systems vulnerable because most countries faced quite severe crises. In some cases the saturation of hospitals was even reported and in the end this harmed other services and where it is best appreciated is in the field of maternal mortality.
Worrying current outlook
Just to get an idea, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) A woman or baby dies every seven seconds in the world from causes that are preventable or treatable with adequate health care. In sum, 4.5 million deaths are recorded annually, the same figure for eight years.
And new study points out that most of these deaths of pregnant women, mothers and newborn babies respond to the lack of sufficient investment dedicated to maternal and child care. It is an item in which not only have not increased resources but have decreased.
As an example, it refers that since 2018 more than three quarters of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and affected by conflicts have reduced the financing for maternal and newborn health.
The disaggregated figures reveal 290,000 maternal deaths, 1.9 million babies dead after 28 weeks of pregnancy and 2.3 million baby deaths during their first month of life.
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– UN News (@NoticiasONU) May 9, 2023
The UN agency explained that global health systems are under great pressure from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in poverty and the exacerbation of humanitarian crises.
The impact of the pandemic persists
According to the latest survey on the impacts of the pandemic on essential health servicesa quarter of countries still report interruptions in care during pregnancy and the postnatal period, as well as in vital services for sick children.
WHO Director of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Anshu Banerjeedescribed the mortality rates as “unacceptably high” and called for increased resources to reverse them.
“If we want to see different results, we have to do things differently. More and smarter investments in primary health care are now needed so that all women and babies have access to health and survival wherever they live.”
Poverty accentuates the problem
Although it is a global problem, the loss of life is not the same in all countries: it is much higher in poor nations or in emergency situations.
Thus, less than 60% of women receive even four prenatal check-ups out of the eight recommended by the WHO in the most affected countries of sub-Saharan Africa and central and southern Asia, the regions with the highest burden of maternal and neonatal deaths.
In this sense, Julitta Onabanjodirector of the Technical Division of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), affirmed that the death of any girl or woman during pregnancy or childbirth is a violation of their human rights, and called for adopting a gender approach to address the topic.
What is needed
To increase survival rates, women and babies must have quality, affordable health care before, during and after delivery, as well as access to family planning services.
More skilled health workers, especially midwives, are also needed, along with essential medicines and supplies, clean water and reliable electricity. The report emphasizes that interventions should especially target the poorest women and those in vulnerable situations who are most likely to miss out on vital care, including through critical subnational planning and investments.
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In two years maternal mortality increases 36% in Mexico
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#year #million #women #die