PRESS
RELEASE

Additional
Information:

Political Statement
Signed by the
Leaders of the
Agencies Involved in
the Strategy
( PDF, 179KB)

Presentation by
PAHO Director,
Dr. Mirta Roses
Periago
( PowerPoint,
4.56MB)

Agencies Pledge to Cut Maternal Deaths

Washington, DC, February 20, 2004 (PAHO)—Eight international agencies pledged their support today to a new strategy designed to prevent deaths of women from pregnancy and childbirth complications, a number that reaches 23,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean each year. Nearly all of these deaths can be prevented with adequate care, according to the strategy released here today.

"Just one maternal death in one year is a tragic event; 23,000 maternal deaths is shameful. The vast majority of women who die in Latin America and the Caribbean die from causes that are preventable and that are routinely prevented in developed countries," said Dr. Mirta Roses, director of the Pan American Health Organization, which is part of the consortium that authored the strategy. It also includes UNFPA, UNICEF, the United States Agency for International Development, Family Care International, the Population Council, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank.

The strategy calls on governments and civil society to prioritize maternal health and offers concrete recommendations for making the right to safe motherhood a reality for women throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The consortium of agencies agreed that the strategy, Reduction of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity: Interagency Strategic Consensus for Latin America and the Caribbean, is critical to improve maternal health in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Indigenous Aymara leader Marta González de Paco, from Bolivia, spoke at the signing ceremony.

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Representatives from each of the agencies offered their perspectives on the maternal mortality problem before signing the joint statement pledging to cut these deaths by three-quarters over the nest 10 years.

Maternal mortality is a significant obstacle to development and in 2000, all member countries of the United Nations pledged to decrease maternal deaths worldwide by 75 percent by 2015 and address other development challenges through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In Latin America and the Caribbean, for every 100,000 live births, 190 women die, which is more than ten times higher than the maternal mortality rate of the United States (17 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births). Maternal death in the region is caused primarily by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (22 percent), hemorrhage (20 percent), other direct causes (17 percent), post-partum complications (15 percent), and complications of unsafe abortion (11 percent). Pre-existing diseases such as tuberculosis and heart disease, among others - all of which are exacerbated by pregnancy or its management, cause another 15 percent of maternal deaths.

The strategy's authors note that several countries have made important achievements in improving maternal health since the late 1980s, but significant challenges remain to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of decreasing maternal mortality by 75 percent over the next decade. These include: most women and men do not have access to comprehensive reproductive health care - including modern contraceptives; expectant mothers do not receive adequate prenatal care; and, despite the fact that most maternal deaths occur around the time of delivery, many women give birth without the assistance of a skilled health professional.

The slogan is "Safe Motherhood: Every woman's Right". To ensure safe motherhood in Latin America and the Caribbean, the strategy recommends:

• Supporting national and municipal efforts to improve maternal health;
• Providing comprehensive maternal health care and services (including ensuring that all childbirths are attended by a skilled health professional with the necessary drugs, equipment, supplies, and referral services to save a woman's life should complications arise);
• Increasing public demand for services through education;
• Building partnerships; and
• Financing maternal health services

"Lessons have been learned globally and regionally at both the policy level and the service delivery level. This document builds on those lessons and presents strategies that can guide efforts to reduce maternal mortality and enhance development in Latin American and Caribbean countries during the first decade of the 21st century," the document notes.

"While there is no 'magic bullet' for safe motherhood, we know what works and hope that this strategy will inspire action at the national and local level to save these women's lives" said Dr. Virginia Camacho, of the Family and Community Health Unit at PAHO.

"The Task Force has discussed at length and received feedback from countries as to the strategies that would work most effectively in the Region. This unified vision will assist greatly in reaching a common goal of significantly reducing maternal deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean," the strategy says.

PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world's oldest international health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and the quality of life of people of the Americas. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). PAHO Member States today include all 35 countries in the Americas. France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States. Portugal and Spain are Observer States, and Puerto Rico is an Associate Member.