Malawi: Campaign to Reduce Maternal Deaths
Malawi opened a battle to reduce its high number of maternal deaths during childbirth, pledging to reduce the rate of 984 deaths for every 100,000 live births by 75 percent by 2015. A $2 million program, financed in part by the World Health Organization and the European Union, will address what the Health Ministry called “a national emergency.” One of Africa’s poorest nations, Malawi suffers from an acute shortage of medical workers, many of whom migrate to work in Europe, and a lack of emergency facilities. Only Sierra Leone and Afghanistan have higher rates of death during childbirth.
