About 130
million babies are born every year around the world; out of those about 830
women die from pregnancy and at least half of those women are within the
Sub-Saharan Africa area; more specifically Malawi in Southeast Africa (Global
Citizen). Paolo Patruno, a social documentary photographer, began raising
awareness of the continuous growing problem of maternal death in Africa when he
teamed up with Rachel MacLead; a senior clinical midwife who worked in the
labor ward of the Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capitol. “The main
issues that are behind this matter are the same [no matter where you are in
Africa,” Patruno told Global Citizen (Global Citizen). Patruno goes on to say
that the growing number of maternal deaths can be viewed as a social problem,
rather than a health issue. For example, women being unable to leave their
homes for a long period of time. “In rural areas, women need to be away from
their homes for a few weeks if they choose to give birth in a health center —
it takes a number of days for them to reach health centers in the first place,
and then they need to deliver and recover before heading back” (Patruno, Global
Citizen).
Africa realizes
that this is a growing problem country wide; therefore, it is a top priority
for those with authority. Patruno has partnered with many government officials
in order to renew and create resources for mothers. Resources during pregnancy
such as education regarding the fetus and how to stay healthy along with
healthy practices. Resources for medical officials regarding care during
pregnancies. Far most the most important is Patruno using his skills within
photography to photograph these mothers in the struggling areas to bring
awareness to other countries. Though the problem is still at large, the number
of maternal deaths has decreased by at least 12.3% in the last two years
(Global Citizen).
The US is
addressing this problem on so many different levels. We have advanced
technology not only in the medical field and in healthcare center; but we have
cars, public transportation, etc. that aids in making sure a woman is properly
taken care of when going into labor. The number of maternal deaths compared to
the number in Africa shows Africa larger by more than 50% (Goal 3). I solely
believe that the United states is far more advanced technology wise, that we
are allowed to have room for trial and error in order to set goals for problems
and achieve those goals.
“Goal 3 .:.
Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.” United Nations, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg3.
“Heres What
Pregnancy Looks Like Around Sub-Saharan Africa.” Global Citizen, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/pregnancy-sub-saharan-africa/.
Hi Folake,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post because it actually had a lot to do with what I did my post on. I also talked about maternal death including perinatal morality. It is so sad to see that so many deaths have to do with labor. These countries really do not have much regarding updated equipment and access to good health care just because they do not have the same economic stability as other countries do. They cannot afford a lot of the equipment, repairs, staff, technology, and other things needed to have the same health care as other countries have. It is so good to hear and know that all of these programs and planning is being done to improve and fix all of these health issues and hopefully every goal is met.