1.9m women lack quality maternal health care in Africa - UNICEF
Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has raised concerns over the risk millions of mothers face due to the prohibitive health care costs, lack of access to services and skilled professionals, and child marriage especially in Africa.
UNICEF, in a new analysis released on maternal health said that approximately 1.9 million households in Africa spend over 40 per cent of their non-food household expenses on maternal health services every year.
While noting that the costs of antenatal care and delivery services can deter pregnant women from seeking medical attention, endangering the lives of mothers and their babies, the report said that although much progress has been made around the world in improving women’s access to maternal services, every day over 800 still die from pregnancy-related complications.
UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore noted that when it comes to women giving birth at a facility, the gap between the poorest and the richest is more than double in West and Central Africa.
“For far too many families, the sheer costs of childbirth can be catastrophic. If a family cannot afford these costs, the consequences can even be fatal. When families cut corners to reduce maternal health care costs, both mothers and their babies suffer.
“At least 7,000 stillbirths also occur every day, half of these babies who were alive when labor began, and 7,000 babies die in the first month of life.
“Doctors, nurses and midwives play a critical role in saving mothers, yet millions of births occur every year without a skilled attendant.
“We are failing to deliver quality care to the poorest and most vulnerable mothers. Too many mothers continue to suffer endlessly, especially during childbirth.
We can stop this suffering and save millions of lives with a safe pair of hands, functional facilities and better quality of care before, during and after their pregnancy.” Said Fore
The analysis noted that although the coverage of health personnel increased in many countries from 2010 to 2017, the increase in coverage has been minimal in the poorest countries where maternal and neonatal mortality levels were the highest.
For example, from 2010 to 2017, coverage increased from 4 to 5 health workers per 10,000 people in Mozambique, and from 3 to 9 in Ethiopia. In Norway that number increased from 213 to 228 health personnel per 10,000 people over the same period.
The report also notes that globally, pregnancy-related complications are the number one cause of death among girls between 15 and 19 years of age. Because adolescent girls are still growing themselves, they are at great risk of complications if they become pregnant.
In addition, their children are at higher risk of dying before their fifth birthday. Yet the report finds that child brides are less likely to receive proper medical care while pregnant or to deliver in a health facility, compared to women married as adults.
Typically, child brides end up having many children to care for, often more than women who marry as adults, thwarting their own life chances while increasing the overall financial burden on their families.
In Cameroon, Chad and the Gambia, over 60 per cent of girls aged 20-24 who married before turning 15 had three or more children, compared to less than 10 per cent of women at the same age who married as adults.
