International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

by Amelia Kegan, Intern
National Women's Law Center

Five hundred thousand. That’s how many women die each year due to complications with childbirth and pregnancy. Today marks the 16th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and a report released last month by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) demonstrates the strong ties between poverty and maternal mortality. UNICEF found that over half a million women die each year due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth, 99 percent occurring in developing countries. Eighty-four percent of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia alone.

Most of these deaths can be prevented with better health care during pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum periods. Poverty, inequality, and societal attitudes towards women’s health help produce these staggering statistics. India alone sees about 80,000 pregnant women and new mothers die each year from preventable causes like hemorrhage, eclampsia, sepsis and anemia.

The situation may be improving, if slowly. Between 1995 and 2005, the number of women in Asia who had a skilled attendant with them during delivery rose nine percentage points to 40 percent. Moreover, the developing world experienced a 15 percentage point jump in antenatal care, rising to 75 percent.

UNICEF has a goal of reducing maternal mortality by 75 percent by 2015. The Maternal and Perinatal Death Inquiry and Response (MAPEDIR) in one method by which UNICEF hopes to achieve this goal. MAPEDIR collects data and interviews surviving family members. This data help communities better understand the causes behind maternal deaths and health officials learn about the challenges women face in accessing care. Hopefully, such initiatives will prove effective.

The National Women’s Law Center works on poverty issues affecting women and children primarily in the United States as women are more likely to be among America’s poor. UNICEF’s recent maternal mortality report highlights the disparate impact poverty plays on women throughout the world.

Comments

[Joan]

Those figures are completely staggering. For me - the most staggering figure is the fact that 99% of the deaths are in developing countries. It is not that it comes as a big surprise but the Near finality of the number makes you really sit up and think.