Each minute of the day, somewhere in the world a woman dies of complications of pregnancy or childbirth—nearly 600,000 women per year. Of these deaths, 99 percent take place in developing countries. These deaths are not mysterious. Their causes have been known for decades. Most of them can be prevented by timely access to medical treatments such as antibiotics, cesarean section surgery, and transfusions.

The Gates Foundation's $56.7 million grant to the Center for Population and Family Health, in Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, is being used to improve women's access to obstetric care in developing countries. This care can be provided in rural hospitals and health centers by properly trained physicians, midwives, and other health providers. Over the five years of the grant, the grantee hopes to make substantial progress by assisting governments and NGOs in conducting needs assessments of emergency obstetric care, and then to plan, implement, and monitor improvements.

Mobilizing Communities
Because it is impossible to predict which women will experience complications (all women are at risk of developing serious complications, even if they are educated, well nourished, and have prenatal care), all expectant mothers need to have access to life-saving obstetric care. Unfortunately, this kind of care is not available to a large proportion of women in the world. The remedy for this situation is not new hospitals, or even new staff, but improvements in training, management, equipment, and the availability of crucial drugs. Once these services are available, community members can be mobilized to recognize danger signs (such as if labor lasts more than 24 hours) and help women obtain prompt care.

Lifetime Risk of Death Due to Pregnancy or Childbirth

Regions Lifetime Risk   North America 1 in 3700   Asia 1 in 65   Africa 1 in 16   If nothing is done to improve the current situation, one woman in 16 in Africa will die of complications of pregnancy or childbirth.

Updated September 2006