WHO: Thousands of women die unnecessarily

I've attended several World Health Organization and United Nations' meetings, thus my e-mail address is on their list. From time to time, I receive updates and press releases from WHO. Yesterday, this particular e-mail caught my attention.

I've written several articles about maternal and fetal mortality rate, and it's always depressing to read that a lot of women and babies still die during delivery. This is actually one of my concerns when I gave birth several months ago. After writing about maternal mortality rates and what-have-you, I tell you the moment I woke up in the recovery room the first few words that came out of my mouth was: "Thank God I'm alive. Nurse, is my baby alright?"

Here's the press release from WHO:

Thousands of women are dying unnecessarily: WHO

Putrajaya, Malaysia, 12 October 2010—The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific today stressed the need for Member States to redouble efforts to improve the health of women in the Region, where thousands still die from avoidable health problems.

“Societies and health systems are not doing enough to protect women’s health and well-being,” Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, told the Organization's Regional Committee for the Western Pacific. “Moreover, gains—longer life expectancy, decline in total fertility, increase in maternal health service coverage and decrease in maternal mortality—have been uneven across and within countries.”

Dr Shin called for renewed political commitment, stronger government leadership, and women-friendly health policies, systems and services to improve women’s health. Among the key areas of concern were pregnancy and childbirth, where health risks account for a large share of women's morbidity and mortality, especially in low-income settings.

The Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, today emphasized the importance of strengthening political commitment to improve the health of women—from infancy to old age. It also called on the development of a comprehensive range of services that are women friendly and responsive to women's health needs.

Women often live less healthy lives than men due to a combination of biological and societal factors, such as health risks involved in pregnancy and childbirth. Despite the availability of cost-effective interventions, the maternal mortality ratio remains unacceptably high in some countries in the Region, where the proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health personnel is less than 50%.

Another significant issue is mental health, with women more likely than men to suffer from depression. Depressive disorders account for 42% of disability among women, compared with 29.3% among men. Violence against women is also high, sometimes leading to mental health issues and other chronic health problems.