ISLAMABAD – About 1,000 women die each day in childbirth or from preventable complications related to pregnancy, humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) has said.
“Worldwide, at any time, 15 percent of pregnancies incur the risk of a potential fatal complication,” said Kara Blackburn, responsible for women’s health at MSF in a statement to mark International Women’s Day. “Women must have access to quality obstetric care, whether they live in Sydney, Port-au-Prince or Mogadishu,” said Blackburn. She said that access should be the same whether at a modern hospital in a major city, in a conflict zone, a refugee camp or in a shelter after an earthquake. A report entitled “Maternal mortality: a preventable crisis”, published in Geneva, shows how MSF emergency obstetric care provided in humanitarian crisis situations can save lives. The organisation believes the solution lays in implementing programmes, especially regarding obstetric complications, the training of specialised personnel and access to appropriate medical equipment. MSF provides obstetric care in nearly 30 countries.