WUNRN
Amnesty International
Direct Link to Full 72-Page Report:
Out
of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone:
Article Includes Video.
SIERRA LEONE - MATERNAL DEATH RATE
IS A HUMAN RIGHTS EMERGENCY
21
September 2009
As
world leaders meet at the United Nations in New York to discuss increased
funding for healthcare in developing countries, Amnesty International's
Secretary General Irene Khan has launched a campaign to reduce maternal deaths
in Sierra Leone.
The report Out of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone
uses graphic and personal testimonials to show how women and girls are often
unable access lifesaving treatment because they are too poor to pay for it.
In Sierra Leone, one in eight women risk dying during pregnancy or childbirth.
This is one of the highest maternal death rates in the world.
Thousands of women bleed to death after giving birth. Most die in their homes.
Some die on the way to hospital; in taxis, on motorbikes or on foot. In Sierra
Leone, less than half of deliveries are attended by a skilled birth attendant
and less than one in five are carried out in health facilities.
"These grim statistics reveal that maternal deaths are a human rights
emergency in Sierra Leone," said Irene Khan, launching the report in
Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. "Women and girls are dying in their
thousands because they are routinely denied their right to life and health, in
spite of promises from the government to provide free healthcare to all
pregnant women."
At the United Nations General Assembly meeting on 23 September, access to
healthcare in the developing world will be high on the agenda.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce a series of new
finance packages devoted to improving healthcare in the developing world with
particular focus on infant and maternal health. Sierra Leone is expected to be
among the recipients of the fund.
"Additional money is desperately needed in Sierra Leone but will not reach
women and children in remote areas who are at greatest risk," said Irene
Khan. "The lives of women and girls will only be saved when the health
system is properly managed and the government is held to account.
Money alone will not solve the problem. In Sierra Leone severe discrimination
and the low social status of women underlies the terrible tragedy of maternal
deaths. This is a country where girls are forced into early marriage, excluded
from schools and face sexual violence. Women's health needs are given a low
priority by their own families, community leaders and their government."
Irene Khan's visit to Sierra Leone marks the start of Amnesty International's
action against maternal mortality in the country. A "campaign
caravan" will tour Sierra Leone over the coming weeks, providing
information and fuelling debate on the issue of maternal health.
Amnesty International believes poverty is a human rights issue. This year, it
launched a global campaign called Demand Dignity, which calls for an end to the
human rights violations that drive and deepen poverty.
The Demand Dignity campaign mobilises people across the world to demand that
governments and corporations listen to the voices of those living in poverty
and respect their rights.
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