Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – The number of women dying from pregnancy complications has dropped worldwide. Sub-saharan Africa is still the site of the highest maternal mortality rate, although the area has seen a 26% decrease in its rate. The statistics, recently published in the report “Trends in Maternal Mortality,” from the World Health Organization, cover the period between 1990 and 2008 and show that globally, the ratio fell by 34 percent, from 400 to 260 and the average yearly drop was 2.3%. This is less than half the reduction needed to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which concerns maternal health. The improvement of healthcare for pregnant women has helped decrease the rate. However, there are still 1,000 women [across the world] who die every day in childbirth. Data were collected in 172 countries, but only 63 provided complete information from civil registration systems and good attribution of causes of death for the estimates. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia still account for 87% of maternal deaths worldwide. Approximately two thirds are recorded in only 11 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, and Tanzania. Southeast Asia recorded a total rate of maternal mortality of 280 per 100,000 live births. The rates of Sub-Saharan Africa were 640 for every 100,000; Afghanistan, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, and Somalia were more than 1,000 per 100,000. Lack of funds for health care is the main problem. Most governments, almost all of them African countries, depend on international donors. In the case of Kenya, for example, it cannot survive without these donations. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 22/9/2010)
