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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Maternal deaths triple since 1990, says UNFPA
AMMAN, 7 November 2003 (IRIN) - Maternal deaths in Iraq have tripled since 1990 due to a crumbling health system, a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed this week.
The study found that bleeding, ectopic pregnancies and prolonged labour were among the causes of the reported 310 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2002. This figure had risen from 117 deaths in 1989. Miscarriages had also risen, partly due to stress and exposure to chemical contaminants, the report said.
"What is alarming about the report is the figures showing a steep increase in the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," UNFPA's executive director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, told IRIN from UN headquarters in New York on Thursday. "It also highlights the general deterioration in the health system in general, and services provided to women in particular, as a result of decades of conflicts, economic sanctions and the 2003 war," she added.
More than 65 percent of women are giving birth at home and the majority do not have any help, the report said. This was due to deteriorating security, poor communication and transport systems, making it difficult for women to access medical facilities.
According to Obaid, Iraq was quite advanced in terms of health care, and home births were decreasing, particularly in urban areas, where they were no longer the norm. "This has changed with the imposition of sanctions, the deterioration of the health service provision system, and the occupation of Iraq by the US, which, according to the Geneva Convention, is responsible for ensuring the security of the citizens. Certainly now, the issue of security is a primary reason for home births," she maintained.
The survey was carried out in July and August 2003, as part of UNFPA's contribution to the Reconstruction Needs Assessment in Iraq, sponsored jointly by the UN and the World Bank. The assessment points out that help on offer for pregnant women was further damaged by the recent war, the aftereffects of which are still being felt, leaving the health system in desperate need of rehabilitation.
Many clinics were damaged and looted, water and electricity supplies were disrupted, and drugs and medical equipment are scarce. "UNFPA will follow up on the recommendations of the report to help save the lives of Iraqi women," Obaid said.
She explained that the agency, which had been providing humanitarian assistance to the reproductive health sector in Iraq since 1995, would continue to work closely with national authorities and partners concerned to support a comprehensive set of health-care activities needed to promote and protect safe motherhood in Iraq. This, she said, would ensure availability of antenatal care, safe delivery, and emergency obstetric care to reduce the number of women and babies dying during pregnancy and delivery.
"The reconstruction effort in Iraq will benefit greatly from rapid improvements in the area of reproductive health," she stressed, adding that the health-care infrastructure was still in place, but needed to be strengthened and updated.
Training was also identified as a priority. Iraqi health professionals, although well qualified, were in need of updating their skills as the sanctions had limited their access to new scientific findings for over 10 years, the survey said.
The general health of pregnant women was described as being extremely poor with between 50 percent and 70 percent suffering from iron-deficiency anaemia, as well as malaria and other infections. Adding to their problems, only 60 per cent of women received some form of prenatal care, down from 78 per cent in 1996.
The survey also highlighted that fact that many adults were unaware of family planning methods, which had led to an increase in unsafe abortions. "Contraceptive rates have also fallen due to a breakdown in supplies," the report said, noting that Iraq had a very young population, of which 50 per cent were under the age of 15, resulting in a rise in teenage pregnancies.
"Millions of Iraqi youth are about to enter their reproductive years," said Obaid. "We must protect their health and provide them with quality information and appropriate services."
Another important finding of the survey was an increase in sexual violence and abductions in the capital, Baghdad, but said that most cases were not reported or investigated. "Health personnel are not trained to deal with the problem, and reporting a rape often brings further problems for victims, including social rejection."
Despite a three-fold increase since 1989, the current maternal mortality ratio in Iraq is still much lower than other conflict and post-conflict regions, where pregnancy-related deaths were around 1,300 out of 100,000 live births in both Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.
"This is due in part to the good network of health institutions that the country had before the international sanctions were imposed, in addition to the fact that socioeconomic conditions in the country before 1990 were not as bad as they are today," Obaid asserted.
Themes: (IRIN) Children
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003
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