Towards Ending Preventable Maternal Deaths by 2035

Yves Bergevin; Vincent Fauveau; Britt McKinnon

doi:10.1055/s-0034-1395275

Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, Table of Contents

Semin Reprod Med 2015; 33(01): 023-029
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1395275

Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Towards Ending Preventable Maternal Deaths by 2035

Authors

Yves Bergevin

¹Fonds de Recherche du Québec and Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec Montréal, Québec, Canada
Vincent Fauveau

²Holistic Santé, Montpellier, France
Britt McKinnon

³Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Maternal mortality has been reduced by half from 1990 to 2010, yet a woman in sub-Saharan Africa has a lifetime risk of maternal death of 1 in 39 compared with around 1 in 10,000 in industrialized countries. Annual rates of reduction of maternal mortality of over 10% have been achieved in several countries. Highly cost-effective interventions exist and are being scaled up, such as family planning, emergency obstetric and newborn care, quality service delivery, midwifery, maternal death surveillance and response, and girls' education; however, coverage still remains low. Maternal mortality reduction is now high on the global agenda. We examined scenarios of reduction of maternal mortality by 2035. Ending preventable maternal deaths could be achieved in nearly all countries by 2035 with challenging yet realistic efforts: (1) massive scaling-up and skilling up of human resources for family planning and maternal health; (2) reaching every village in every district and every urban slum toward universal health coverage; (3) enhanced financing; (4) knowledge for action: enhanced monitoring, accountability, evaluation, and R&D.

Keywords

maternal mortality elimination - universal health coverage - maternal health - midwifery - emergency obstetric and newborn care

Full Text

References

References
1 WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, The World Bank. Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010. WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and The World Bank estimates. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012
2 The Partnership for Maternal. Newborn & Child Health. A Global Review of the Key Interventions Related to Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Geneva, Switzerland: PMNCH; 2011
3 Save the Children Federation, Inc. Ending Newborn Deaths: Ensuring Every Baby Survives. Save the Children Federation, Inc.; 2014
4 Yamin AE, Boulanger VM, Falb KL, Shuma J, Leaning J. Costs of inaction on maternal mortality: qualitative evidence of the impacts of maternal deaths on living children in Tanzania. PLoS ONE 2013; 8 (8) e71674
5 WHO Health topics. Maternal Health Available at: http://www.who.int/topics/maternal_health/en/ . Accessed March 4, 2014
6 UNFPA. Maternal Health Thematic Fund. Business Plan. UNFPA; 2008
7 UNFPA. Maternal Health Thematic Fund. Annual Report. UNFPA; 2012
8 Campbell OM, Graham WJ ; Lancet Maternal Survival Series steering group. Strategies for reducing maternal mortality: getting on with what works. Lancet 2006; 368 (9543) 1284-1299
9 Ahmed S, Li Q, Liu L, Tsui AO. Maternal deaths averted by contraceptive use: an analysis of 172 countries. Lancet 2012; 380 (9837) 111-125
10 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2012) World Contraceptive Use 2012 (POP/DB/CP/Rev2012)
11 ICFP. International Conference on Family Planning, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2013
12 Gilmore K, Gebreyesus TA. What will it take to eliminate preventable maternal deaths?. Lancet 2012; 380 (9837) 87-88
13 WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, Mailman School of Public Health. Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD). Monitoring Emergency Obstetric Care: A Handbook. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009
14 WHO. (2014). Births attended by skilled health personnel (%): latest available since 2005. Available at: http://gamapserver.who.int/gho/interactive_charts/mdg5/atlas.html . Accessed on November 11, 2014
15 World Health Organization. Everybody's Business: Strengthening Health Systems to Improve Health Outcomes: WHO's Framework for Action. World Health Organization; 2007
16 UNFPA. State of the World's Midwifery Report. Delivering Health, Saving Lives. New York. 2011
17 United Nations Foundations. UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children. United Nations; 2013
18 Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, AMDD. National Baseline Assessment for Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care: Addis Ababa, Final Report 2008
19 Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health. Keeping Promises, Measuring Results. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011
20 WHO, CDC, UNFPA, International Confederation of Midwives, FIGO, Evidence for Action. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response: Technical Guidance Information for Action to Prevent Maternal Death. 2013
21 Hounton S, De Bernis L, Hussein J , et al. Towards elimination of maternal deaths: maternal deaths surveillance and response. Reprod Health 2013; 10: 1
22 UNICEF. The State of the World's Children 2004: Girls, Education and Development. UNICEF; 2003
23 Population Reference Bureau. (2014). The Effect of Girls' Education on Health Outcomes: Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Media-Guides/2011/girls-education-fact-sheet.aspx . Accessed on November 11, 2014
24 UNESCO Building Human Capacities in Least Developed Countries to Promote Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development, 2011. Available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001915/191597e.pdf . Accessed on November 11, 2014
25 The State of the World's Children 2011. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/pdfs/SOWC-2011-Main-Report_EN_02092011.pdf . Accessed on November 11, 2014
26 UNFPA. The Case for Investing in Young People as part of a National Poverty Reduction Strategy, Second Edition, 2010. Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2010/investing_young_2010.pdf . Accessed on November 11, 2014
27 WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, The World Bank. Joint Statement on Maternal and Newborn Health. Accelerating Efforts to Save the Lives of Women and Newborns. 25 September 2008. Available at: https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/news/2008/jointstatement_en.pdf . Accessed on November 11, 2014
28 United Nations. Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health. Every Woman Every Child. Available at: http://www.everywomaneverychild.org . Accessed on November 11, 2014
29 UKaid. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. London Summit on Family Planning. FP 2020. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release. London, July 11, 2012
30 UNICEF. Child Survival Call to Action summit closes with commitment to eliminate preventable child deaths. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/childsurvival/index_62647.html . Accessed on November 11, 2014
31 Jamison DT, Summers LH, Alleyne G , et al; The Lancet Commission on Investing in Health. Global health 2035: a world converging within a generation. Lancet 2013; 382 (9908) 1898-1955
32 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. LiST: The Lives Saved Tool. An evidence-based tool for estimating intervention impact. Available at: http://www.jhsph.edu/departments/international-health/centers-and-institutes/institute-for-international-programs/list/ . Accessed on November 11, 2014
33 UN Economic and Social Council. Commission on the Status of Women. Fifty-sixth session. Eliminating maternal mortality and morbidity through the empowerment of women. Advanced unedited version, March 9, 2012. Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw56/resolutions_advance_versions/maternal_mort_CSW56_res_advance.pdf . Accessed June 3, 2012
34 Bustreo F, Say L, Koblinsky M , et al. Ending preventable maternal deaths: the time is now. Lancet Global Health 2013; 1 (4) e176-e177
35 Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency and ICF International. Ethiopia 2011 Demographic and Health Survey: Key Findings. Calverton: 2009
36 International Confederation of Midwives. Global Standards for Midwifery Education (2010). Amended 2013. Available at: http://www.internationalmidwives.org/assets/uploads/documents/CoreDocuments/ICM%20Standards%20Guidelines_ammended2013.pdf . Accessed on November 11, 2014
37 WHO. Making every mother and child count. Geneva: WHO; 2005
38 Van Lerberghe W, Lafort Y. The role of the hospital in the district; delivering or supporting primary health care? Current Concerns SHS Papers. 1990: 1-36
39 Godal T, Quam L. Accelerating the global response to reduce maternal mortality. Lancet 2012; 379 (9831) 2025-2026
40 Stenberg K, Axelson H, Sheehan P. The Study Group for the Global Investment Framework for Women's and Children's Health. Advancing social and economic development by investing in women's and children's health: a new Global Investment Framework. Lancet 2014; 383 (9925) 1333-1354