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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
USAID Launches Initiative to Decrease Deaths During Childbirth
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov/
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2003-093
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2003
Contact: USAID Press Office
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced a special initiative to help the more than 500,000 women who die worldwide as a result of childbirth. The initiative will promote the attendance of skilled health workers at birth and provide low-cost drug injections that can stop birth-related bleeding. These measures can save lives regardless of the distance from hospitals and clinics. The USAID initiative comes in response to the urgent need for increased access to life-saving emergency obstetric care.
USAID is also supporting the International Federation of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians and the International Confederation of Midwives in the release of their first-ever joint statement and an action plan to accelerate efforts to prevent excessive bleeding known as postpartum hemorrhage.
"Most women in developing countries lack access to lifesaving care, therefore we must promote skilled attendants at birth and the provision of lifesaving basic essential obstetric care," said Dr. E. Anne Peterson, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Global Health. "We are putting the spotlight on prevention of excessive bleeding within the context of ongoing maternal child health services and safe motherhood programs. If we increase knowledge and skills in the community and health facilities and prepare frontline providers to focus first and foremost on the biggest maternal killer, we will save mothers and their children."
Every year, more than 500,000 women die as a result of childbirth. At least one-quarter of maternal deaths result from post-partum hemorrhage. On average, a woman will die within two hours after the onset of excessive bleeding if she does not receive prompt treatment. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. Globally, at least 14 million cases of post-partum hemorrhage occur each year. Excessive bleeding usually results from delayed delivery of the placenta or failure of the uterus to contract. Anemic women are particularly susceptible, though two-thirds of cases occur in women with no identifiable risk factors.
USAID programs are being designed and funded in Benin, Ethiopia, Mali, and Zambia, and activities have already begun in Indonesia. The goal is to equip birth attendants in homes, health centers, and hospitals with the skills, drugs, and other supplies to reduce maternal mortality. Substantial declines in maternal deaths have already been achieved in the last fifteen years in Egypt (52 percent decline), Guatemala (30 percent) and Honduras (41 percent).
USAID has joined the American College of Nurse-Midwives, Johns Hopkins affiliate JHPIEGO, IntraHealth International, Inc., and Management Sciences for Health on this initiative.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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