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Safer births help fight poverty

17 September 2008
 

Expectant mothers crowd into a room at Mchinji District Hospital, MalawiNext week, world leaders will descend on New York for the UN's High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals, where they will set out their plans for increasing the global pace in the fight against poverty. In 2008, it is crucial that more is done internationally to meet the Goals by the target year of 2015.

One of the UK Government's priorities at the event will be maternal health. Improving the health of women and their young children has a direct impact on progress towards all of the MDGs, yet the Goals relating to these issues are the most off-track of all.

It is a tragic fact that, every minute, somewhere in the world a women dies as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. Of the 536,000 maternal deaths that occur globally each year, 99% happen in developing countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Furthermore, over 300 million women suffer illness or disability because of problems in pregnancy and childbirth.

How DFID is helping

Maternal deaths not only come with a huge human cost: they have a huge economic impact too. It is thought that deaths during childbirth in developing countries cost up to $15 billion annually, as a result of loss of workforce. The UK has committed £6 billion over the next seven years to improve health systems in the developing world.

Our focal points for ensuring that women in poor countries are able to enjoy safe pregnancies and births are:

  • removing economic barriers to health services
  • increasing the number of skilled birth attendants and midwives
  • increasing access to (and information about) family planning
  • preventing unsafe abortion.

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Delivering results

DFID's work to bring better healthcare to expectant mothers and their children has already made a real difference in some of the world's most disadvantaged places:

  • In Bangladesh, maternal deaths fell by 38% between 1990 and 2001 - putting the MDG target of cutting maternal mortality by three-quarters well within the country's sights.
  • In Nepal, over the last decade there has been a 20% drop in the maternal death rate - an achievement all the more remarkable in a country suffering from conflict during this period. Read more.
  • In Mozambique, the number of women dying in childbirth was reduced from 1,000 per 100,000 births in the early 1990s to an estimated 351 in every 1,000 in 2007. Read more.
  • In rural Afghanistan, the percentage of women receiving antenatal care during pregnancy from a skilled provider increased from under 5% in 2003 to over 30% in 2006. The percentage who had a doctor, nurse or midwife assist with their last delivery increased from 6% to almost 19% over the same period (Johns Hopkins, 2008).

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Overcoming challenges

In the past, certain key issues around maternal health have been neglected, or have suffered from being politically unpopular. However, DFID continues to support:

Effective family planning

Contraception can save lives. Research has shown that every US$1 million spent on family planning can avert 26,338 pregnancies, prevent 14,789 induced abortions and save the lives of 30 mothers and 380 infants.

The UK is a major contributor to family planning. In October 2007 it announced £100 million over five years to the external linkUnited Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) reproductive health commodities fund.

Preventing unsafe abortion

Around 70,000 women, often the youngest and most vulnerable, die needlessly each year as a result of unsafe abortions. One of the few donors to actively support efforts to prevent unsafe abortion, DFID plays a leading role in focussing attention – and challenging policies – on the issue. At the Global Safe Abortion Conference in October 2007, DFID provided £4 million to the Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF) and a £6.5 million contribution to the women's health organisation, external linkIPAS.

Sexual and reproductive health

Pregnancy/childbirth is the leading cause of death for girls aged 15-19 in the developing world. These deaths could be reduced if sexual and reproductive health were to be integrated with HIV and AIDS services. An HIV infected pregnant woman is four to five times more likely to die in childbirth than one who is not infected.

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