Chronicle Editor
“FOR many mothers around the world, the month of May is an annual moment for them to receive thanks and recognition for all they do. But for hundreds of thousands of women globally, this gratitude only goes so far.”
This is a statement by the United Nations ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday which says while celebrating mothers, women still face a number of challenges that need to be urgently addressed so that they too enjoy full liberties.
“According to recently released data, a woman dies from pregnancy or childbirth every two minutes — with the vast majority of these deaths due to preventable causes like bleeding and infection.
“What’s worse, solutions to these problems have existed for decades; but they require immediate investment in family planning and for the world to address its steep shortage of midwives, who UNFPA reports could prevent an estimated two-thirds of all maternal and newborn deaths,” said the UN.
The UN then came up with four topics on issues affecting women that need addressing the first being the maternal deaths at crisis level.
“Between 2000 and 2015, global maternal mortality decreased by more than a third. But the rate of reduction has since stagnated across several regions and even reversed course in others. This has resulted in a staggering 287,000 maternal deaths in 2020 – a death toll that would dominate headlines if it was tied to a natural disaster or other crisis,” said the UN.
The organisation said that as often as not, women and girls do not get to decide to become pregnant.
“An alarming four in ten partnered women across 68 countries were unable to exert agency when it came to health care, sex or contraceptives. Meanwhile, some data suggests rape-related pregnancies occur at least as frequently as pregnancies arising from consensual sex.
“These factors and others drive a neglected global crisis, in which almost half of all pregnancies around the world are unintended, leading to stark negative consequences for many of those affected. As mentioned, complications from pregnancy and childbirth can be deadly — especially for adolescents and girls. An estimated half a million births were to girls aged 10-14 in 2021, making hundreds of thousands of mothers while still in childhood,” said the UN.
The organisation said Mothers’ preferences regarding fertility frequently go ignored citing UNFPA’s 2023 State of the World Population report which states: “8 Billion Strong”, many women want bigger or smaller families than they achieve. Across most sub-Saharan African countries, for example, women report two or more births on average than desired, while a majority of childless women in Japan said they wanted children. Further, in low- and middle-income countries, as few as one in four women are realizing their desired fertility.
Lastly, the UN said to secure the rights of mothers, there is a need to secure gender equality.
“Preventable maternal mortality, the denial of rights or demographic change can all be addressed by making the world a more gender-equal place. Of course, this is easier said than done. But gender inequality’s role at the root of so many other issues, including those mentioned above, must be recognised.
“Gender inequality is what keeps women out of the workforce and schools, vulnerable to conflict and violence, and denies them the right to make decisions about their own bodies and health. And it’s what makes pregnancy a dangerous endeavour, one which hundreds of thousands of women do not survive.”
Critically, the UN said, “This Mother’s Day, mean it when you say thank-you to the maternal figures in your life by work to save their lives. They will thank you in turn by thriving.”
Online Reporter