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Increases in contraceptive use,
health care provider-assisted births, and treatment for HIV-positive mothers
have helped cut the maternal death rate by 47 percent since 1990, according to
UN agencies.
In 2010, maternal deaths declined to
roughly 287,000, from the UN’s estimate of 543,000 in 1990. Deaths are falling
rapidly in East Asia but slowly in Africa, according to the report compiled by the
World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the UN Population Fund, the UN
Population Division, the World Bank, and a team from the University of
California-Berkeley. Countries in southern Africa are witnessing the start of a
reversal as more HIV-positive women there receive antiretroviral treatment.
UN maternal death estimates have
been challenged in the past. Two years ago, the Institute for Health Metrics
and Evaluation, which was created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as
a way to validate WHO figures, disputed the UN’s 2008 tally using three times
as much data. In response, the UN “revised and improved” its count for that
year. The institute estimated maternal deaths at 274,000 in 2011, meaning the
new UN number is within the same statistical boundaries, said Dr. Rafael
Lozano, epidemiologist for IHME.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
