WUNRN
Please read 2 parts of this WUNRN
release on India Infant & Maternal Mortality.
_____________________________________________________________________
Internal Displacement Monitoring
Centre
Article Link: http://www.internal-displacement.org:80/8025708F004D31AA/(httpIDPNewsAlerts)/D7297BA1DDDB610BC12574E400573AFD?OpenDocument
IDP - Internally Displaced Persons
Orissa is a state located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of
Bengal.
India:
Miscarriages and Infant Mortality Mark Health Crisis in Orissa IDP Camps
Pregnant
women and babies among the approximately 15,000 IDPs remaining
in relief camps in India’s Orissa state are particularly affected by the poor
health and hygiene situation. Most pregnant women face the risk of unsafe deliveries, as with
virtually no access to doctors, hospitals or medical kits, most are forced to
give birth in the relief camps. Around ten miscarriages have been reported in the past
week, and high mortality of children born in the camps is also a major concern.
Other IDPs experiencing health risks and injuries also have minimal access to
health facilities. Trauma
remains high among the displaced and even in the camps people are taking turns
to guard each other for fear of being attacked. Some people continue to live in
their damaged houses but come to the camps at night, making the already cramped
relief zones even more crowded. The camps were mostly set up in schools and
government buildings in the aftermath of attacks
by Hindus against Christians that began on 24 August and forced up to 50,000
people to flee their homes.
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NEW
DELHI, 7 October 2008 – The stories of women who die in India during pregnancy,
delivery or from post-partum complications have largely remained untold – until
now. A powerful new tool that analyses the underlying medical and social
reasons behind maternal death is being used by health experts, policymakers and
communities to save women’s lives.
The Indian
Government estimates that 301 women die annually for every 100,000 live births.
In some states the maternal mortality ratio is even higher -- 358 in Orissa,
371 in Bihar, and 379 in Madhyar Pradesh.
The new data
analysis tool reveals an estimated 80,000 pregnant women or new mothers die
each year in India often from preventable causes including hemorrhage,
eclampsia, sepsis and anemia. Since many deaths happen in the anonymity
of women’s homes or on the way to seek help at a medical facility, they often
go unrecorded. (Please see accompanying fact sheet for more information.)
“The tragic reality is that too often maternal deaths are not visible. They don’t
leave any trace behind, and their deaths are not accounted for,” Chris
Hirabayashi, UNICEF India Deputy Director of Programmes, said today at a
meeting bringing together health officials from all six states. “UNICEF is
committed to continue working with the National Rural Health Mission to promote
surveillance as a key strategy to lower maternal and child mortality.”
The Maternal
and Perinatal Death Inquiry and Response (MAPEDIR) empowers communities by
demystifying maternal mortality. The accumulated evidence can help communities
understand the root causes behind these deaths so they can take effective,
local action and advocate for improved services to prevent future deaths. In
addition, MAPEDIR informs health officials about the challenges local women
face in accessing reproductive health care. Its plan extends across select
districts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP), West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and
Bihar collecting data to reconstruct and analyse the cases of 1,600 women --
the highest number of audited maternal deaths in the world
For India to
achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three
quarters by 2015, social and economic factors like the low status of women in
communities, the poor understanding of families on when to seek care, a lack of
transport, poor roads, the cost of seeking care, multiple referrals to
different health facilities and a delay in life-saving measures in rural areas
need to be addressed.
Medical
records only capture part of the story, documenting the biological causes of
death. This new knowledge identifies the other crucial factors that contribute
to mothers dying so that solutions can be identified by communities and health
systems.
A team made
up of state government health and nutrition officials and NGO members, headed
by a member of the local village council or Panchayati Raj Institution,
conducts interviews with surviving family members at community-level. Technical
support is being provided by UNICEF with funding from the United Kingdom’s
Department of International Development (DFID).
“Unless we
know the main reasons for maternal deaths we cannot take effective measures to
tackle them. The traditional system did not deal with the issues adequately,”
said Dr S.P. Yadav, Director of Medical and Health Services in Rajasthan. “Now
using MAPEDIR, we can know if the deaths are due to delays in decision making
at household level or lack of transport or delay at the facility or a
cumulative of all three.”
One expert
who helped guide the process said, “The MAPEDIR data is an empowering tool that
builds community awareness on rights and participation in women’s health
issues,” said Dr. Henry Kalter, an associate at John Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health. “It builds awareness to take local action and generate demand
for health services that will save women’s lives and ultimately their
newborns.”
MAPEDIR
follows a six step process:
• Sensitizing communities on maternal and perinatal health issues,
including birth preparedness and complication readiness;
• Reporting and investigating maternal deaths;
• Interviewing all families with a maternal death to determine the
biological and social causes;
• Analyzing and interpreting the data;
• Sharing the finding with communities to develop appropriate,
high-impact, local interventions;
• Monitoring the interventions with ongoing maternal death inquires and
developing new evidence-based interventions as needed.
About
UNICEF
UNICEF
is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive
and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest
provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and
nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and
girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and
AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of
individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
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