We Must Keep Maternal Health Front and Center of the UHC Conversation

By Pape Amadou Gaye, Chief Executive Officer ; Devex ContributorsJanuary 11, 2019We stand at a critical inflection point in the fight to end preventable maternal mortality.This piece originally appeared onDevex.The Lancet recently  reported that if high-quality health systems were in place in 137 low- and middle-income countries, maternal deaths would decline by half.So, how do we get there? How do we ensure that every woman has access to quality health care before, during, and after childbirth; that she and her newborn are not made to suffer from a preventable and treatable maternal health complication; that she is given the best possible chance of surviving — and thriving in — motherhood?Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world; a complicated relationship between traditional birth attendants and government means women are losing out on medical care.This is a complex and urgent question. We stand at a critical inflection point in the fight to end preventable maternal mortality. More than  99 percent of maternal deaths occur in LMICs, with almost two-thirds in sub-Saharan Africa.In Sierra Leone, it ’s estimated that more than1,300 women died  for every 100,000 births in 2015 — more than six times the global average; a woman in Chad faces a 1 in 18 lifetime risk of dying from complications during pregnancy or childbirth — the 44 percent decline in global maternal mortalitybetween 1990 and 2015 was significant, but insufficient.A...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Source Type: news