Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 - 2 comments

Why are pregnant women dying in Asia?

Maternal and child mortality rates in  Asia is very high. Here is a video which talks about empowering women in Pakistan to lower maternal and child mortality rates.

Nepal

According to UNICEF, in Nepal alone 281 Nepali women per 100,000 live births die during child birth. Most of the time because of preventable causes like excess bleeding, infection caused by lack of sterilized equipments and prolong labor without medical assistance.

Bhutan

In Bhutan, a technologically backward mountainous country in South Asia, maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the region. Country’s Kuensel Newspaper says that

“The maternity mortality rate in Bhutan of 255 deaths per 100,000 births is one of the highest in south Asia.The main cause for maternal death is home delivery despite repeated advice to pregnant mothers to have institutional delivery”

Poor status of women in South Asia also contributes to high maternal mortality rates in the region-in addition to poverty and lack of access to health care facility.

Sri Lanka

Although South Asia’s maternal mortality rates are the worst compared to other parts of region, some countries in the Asian region are making marked improvements. Sri Lanka is one example and this month, according to local newspaper Daily News their efforts  will be recognized

“at the convention of the World Health Organisation to be held in Ethiopia in October for being the first country in the South East Asia region to have achieved eight out of the ten Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the health sector.

………..The country has secured a number of achievements such as low maternal mortality rate, child mortality rate and higher level of life expectancy. The program to control communicable diseases such as SARS, Avian flu, HIV and STD has earned accolades from many countries.”

Asia-Pacific

Compared to South Asia, Asia-Pacific region is more advanced-economy and technology wise but when it comes to maternal and child mortality, the region is also facing problems. United Nations says that maternal and child mortality in Asia-Pacific region is not improving fast enough. Reason for slow progress is due to

“poor access to reproductive health care. U.N. officials say more resources are needed to reach the goal of universal access by 2015.”

IPS News says that in Lagos, a disadvantaged country  in Asia-Pacific

“pregnancy brings with it the spectre of death. South-east Asia’s poorest country has recorded over 700 women dying every year due to complications during childbirth.

“We have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in South-east Asia,” admits Bounthavy Sisouphanthong, the country’s vice minister for planning and investment. “Most of the women who die are those who give birth at home. They are from rural communities, villages.”

The views expressed in this blog-post are solely those of the author.