The latest global maternal death statistics indicate that of the 536,000 women that died in 2005 of childbirth related complications, about half or 261,000 were African women. The recently released 2005 figures also indicate that Africa is the only region where maternal deaths have increased since 1990 up from 205,000. Maternal deaths dropped in every other continent over the same period. In Europe from 4,800 to 2,900, and in the America’s from 21,000 to 16,000. The prevalent maternal death risk also reflects a much bleaker picture of overall reproductive health in Africa. The Africa Public Health Rights Alliance “15% Now!” Campaign has developed a scorecard based on the 2005 figures and available comparable global health financing and health systems data. The scorecard shows that in the bottom 10 countries globally - all of which are African except Afghanistan, maternal death risk is between 1 in 7 (Niger) and 1 in 15 (Mali). In the top 10 the risk is between 1 in 47,600 (Ireland) and 1 in 13,800 (Switzerland). Possibly every family in the bottom 10 countries will suffer 1 maternal death. Overall 1 in 23 African women have a lifetime risk of maternal death compared with 1 in 2,300 in Europe.
Equity in Health
Independent monitoring and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its structural obstacles and challenges are key factors for the success of the SDGs. For this reason, the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development together with other civil society organisations and networks has produced the first annual Spotlight Report assessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the structural obstacles in its realisation. The report puts a spotlight on the fulfilment of the 17 goals, with a particular focus on inequalities, responsibility of the rich and powerful, means of implementation and systemic issues. It raises the main obstacles to achieving the SDGs and explores transnational spill over effects that influence or even undermine the implementation of the goals. It comments on whether the current policy approaches, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda, are an adequate response to the challenges and obstacles or are part of the problem and discusses necessary policy changes.
Do the fertility rates of the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania reflect the national levels in those countries? Or is there an independent "Maasai fertility regime"? Research at the London School of Economics has examined fertility among the Maasai and compared it with national trends.
A number of key challenges to reproductive health in Namibia are identified: high fertility, especially among the poorest people and adolescents; an unmet need for contraception at 21%; women not using modern contraceptives because of health concerns or fear of side effects; and an increase in HIV among adults aged 15–49 years from 4% in 1992 to 20% in 2006. Knowledge of HIV prevention methods was found to be high. Key actions to improve reproductive health outcomes in Namibia were identified in this report as strengthening gender equality; reducing high fertility; highlighting the effectiveness of modern contraceptive methods and properly educating women on the health risks and benefits of such methods; and reducing maternal mortality and the prevalence of STIs/HIV/AIDS.
The health disparities between rich and poor in the developing world are so stark that reforms premised on "equal access" are inadequate, declared Werner Christie, Counsellor, Science and Technology, Norwegian Embassy, People's Republic of China and former minister of health of Norway. To be most effective, policies should be based on "disparate access," said Christie, speaking at Forum 11, the annual meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research, which this year focuses on equitable access. Such an approach would grant priority to the disadvantaged people who need help most, he said.
Reports that Kenya's controversy-prone Aids vaccine trials recently hit a major snag with the resignation of the leading Kenyan researcher, Dr Ephantus Njagi, raise disturbing questions about the entire vaccine development programme.
The link between climate and cholera outbreaks has become stronger in recent decades, say researchers from the University of Michigan in the United States, the University of Barcelona in Spain, and the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh. In a previous study published in the journal "Science," the researchers found evidence that El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a major source of climate variability from year to year, influences cycles of cholera. They looked only at climate and disease data from Bangladesh for the past two decades.
Whilst the World Health Organisation-embraced strategy for controlling tuberculosis (TB) has been successful in treating and curing TB, its current format restricts the extension of this success to the poor: although TB treatment is free, diagnosis is not, and so the first gateway to treatment is often shut to the poorest. The restrictions, caused primarily by lack of funds, are outlined in a specially commissioned id21 report by Dr Bertie Squire of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, which points to the tasks ahead if the WHO target to halve TB deaths by 2010 is to be achieved.
The commitment toward achieving universal coverage understood as access to quality, individualized healthcare for all, in a human rights framework, has been profiled as the Goal of the Post 2015 Development Agenda on the topic of Health. For this reason, the Pan American Health Organization proposed a consultation of the key social actors in this process and to hear their voices. The present document summarizes the debate and the agreements assumed by the representatives of civil society organizations, municipal authorities or mayors, indigenous authorities, afro descendants, and other civil society representatives.
Malnutrition due to the ongoing food crisis, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and overcrowded urban areas are all contributing to a rise in tuberculosis (TB) infections in Zimbabwe. Nicholas Siziba, the national coordinator of the Ministry of Health's special TB programme, sounded the alarm while visiting Matabeleland South province - one of the worst-affected in terms of TB rates.