Most Maternal Deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa Could Be Avoided

SCIENCEDAILY ---Maternal mortality is a good indicator of a country's healthcare situation and of the inequalities between men and women, according to a study of 45 African countries from 1997 to 2006. The objective of this research, published in the journal BMC Public Health was to quantify the specific weight of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and to determine the healthcare, cultural and economic factors involved in this.

Data obtained from 45 African countries between 1997 and 2006 from WHO, the World Bank, UNICEF and UNDP were studied.

Despite the significant differences between countries, the number of maternal deaths was high in all of them, at an average of 885 deaths for each 100,000 births, but these women are not dying as a result of any disease, but just from normal biological processes. The results of this study show that an effective and efficient health system, especially during pregnancy and birth, are fundamental cornerstones of maternal health, along with access to clean drinking water, education and poverty reduction.