Despite international efforts and basic, recognised and cost-effective preventative measures, in the time it takes you to read the next three sentences, another woman will die somewhere in the developing world as a result of one of the most natural and gracefilled conditions known to women since our origin: pregnancy. Until we make a step change in our progress toward meeting Millennium Development Goal number 5’s targets – a three-quarters reduction in maternal mortality, and universal access to reproductive health – our progress toward meeting all other MDGs will be undermined. MDG 5 is one on which the success of many of the other seven MDGs rest. If we don’t step up our political and financial commitment to meeting it, the advances we’ve made in other areas will be lost in the next decade.
Overall, health funding from all sources worldwide is up sharply since 2002, but 53 percent goes to fight HIV/Aids, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases. In the developing world, only $2.25 per capita goes for all other health services, including family planning and maternal and child health.
Today, more than 215m women around the world who want to avoid or delay pregnancy lack access to modern contraception, and approximately 70 percent of women in sub- Saharan Africa have no contact with health personnel after childbirth. The cost to provide each pregnant woman in developing countries with quality, lifesaving care would average just $123. We have the cost-effective tools – why aren’t we investing in their most effective use? . . .
Read Karl Hofmann’s full article – Our progress is built on sand
