Health in the world: there are 20 women who die every hour from interrupted pregnancies or childbirth, only in countries at war or immersed in serious crises

ROMA – Five hundred victims a day. People dying in poor countries, governed by fragile institutions, in the hands of a corrupt, unprepared, vulnerable policy. People, especially women, who die and who could have been saved by saving them from the complications of pregnancies or childbirth. Stories and numbers part of a world report published by the United Nations 30 years after International Conference on Population and Development which was held in Cairo. A commitment had been made in the Egyptian capital, relaunched byAgenda 2030 dell’Her.

The Report presented to the Senate. “Ensure women and girls equal access to education, medical care, decent work, as well as representation in decision-making, political and economic processes” reads point five of the document. These words are the prism through which the presentation of the new report to the Senate is developed, in the Caduti di Nassiriya room. The commitment is already in the title: ‘Interconnected lives, threads of hope: ending inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rights’.

The international context. Massimo Diana, of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), introduces and contextualises a life of humanitarian commitment from the former Yugoslavia to Sudan up to Ukraine, where today he heads the organization in Ukraine. “It is estimated that more than half of all preventable maternal deaths occur in countries affected by crises and conflicts” his premise, in an interview with the agency Say: “Almost 21 mothers die every hour and almost 500 every day.” Diana cites some cases, highlighting the burden of the interruption of health services and the lack of access to emergency obstetric care. “In Yemen the situation is particularly disastrous”, denounces the expert: “The maternal mortality ratio is estimated at 164 deaths per 100 thousand live births”.

The numbers by default. In the study the impact of wars is photographed by default. The numbers are in fact updated to autumn 2023: the repercussions of the new flare-up of conflict in the Middle East and the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip are not taken into account, nor are the consequences deriving from the ongoing civil war in Sudan fully assessed. for a year. In this country, more than eight million people have already been forced to flee their homes by raids and fighting. “Pregnant women forced to migrate face immense challenges, including lack of access to maternal health services and greater exposure to gender violence” denounces Diana. “The precarious journey and the stress of moving can lead to complications during pregnancy and childbirth, increasing the risk of maternal and neonatal mortality”. However, in 30 years there has also been progress.

What happened from 1994 to 2020. Between the Cairo Conference and 2020, the report states, unwanted pregnancies decreased by 19 percent. Since 2000, however, the number of single mothers aged between 15 and 19 has decreased by a third. There are now 162 countries that have approved laws against domestic violence, while the rejection of laws that criminalize homosexuality is increasingly widespread. New data referring to 69 countries, however, show continuing critical issues: one in four women cannot make choices independently in the sphere of health and again one in four cannot refuse to have sexual intercourse requested by her husband or partner.

The debate in the Senate. It is discussed in the Senate. “Despite there having been important progress in the field of sexual and reproductive health, we are witnessing stalemate situations and an increase in disparities and inequalities not only between countries but also within them” underlines Maria Grazia Panunzi, president of theItalian women’s association for development (AIDS), promoter of the presentation of the report. “The place where you are born is decisive for life or death, whether it is a rural or urban area, whether you live in a conflict situation or where there is a health system”. According to Panunzi, “it is precisely where the conditions are more difficult that political choices must intervene through actions and resources”. Her message is also an appeal to the Italian government, which this year presides over the G7: “No woman should die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth”.

The voice of demographer Elena Ambrosetti. Elena Ambrosetti, professor of Demography at La Sapienza University of Rome, also highlights disparities and calls for commitment. According to the professor, “too many women in the world do not have access to basic sexual and reproductive health services due to inequalities linked to ethnicity, immigration status, education, socioeconomic status, residence in rural or urban areas or health status, as in the case of people with disabilities”.

Progress is not linear. Past and future, opportunities and risks return in the speech by Cecilia D’Elia, senator of the Democratic Party. “Progress is not linear” warns the parliamentarian. “In these 30 years there has been an improvement in the conditions of access for women to reproductive and sexual health but very profound territorial and social disparities still remain”. According to D’Elia, “the Cairo Conference changed the outlook on the demographic question by placing women’s rights at the centre”. However, this is the message to the Senate, and everyone’s commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind remains essential.

The revolutionary turning point in Cairo in 1994. Thirty years ago – writes Dr. Natalia Kanem, executive director of the UNFPA report United Nations Population Fund – governments around the world agreed that reproductive health and rights are the foundation of global development: a revolutionary turning point that paved the way for decades of progress. Since then, the global rate of unintended pregnancies has decreased by nearly 20% globally. The number of women using modern contraceptive methods has doubled. Today at least 162 countries have adopted laws against domestic violence, and maternal deaths have decreased by 34% from 2000 to today.

But progress is not enough. Yet progress has not been fast enough, nor far enough. Gender-based violence seems to be rampant everywhere in every country and community. There has been no significant reduction in maternal mortality since 2016, and in an alarming number of countries rates are rising. Nearly half of women are still unable to make decisions on their own bodies – unable to exercise their sexuality and reproductive health and rights. One important reason is inequality. New evidence in this report shows that although women of all socioeconomic classes and ethnicities have barriers to health care, they face higher barriers to sexual and reproductive information and care.