Report Calls for Six Steps To Improve Health Care, Reduce Maternal Death in Latin America and Caribbean

MEXICO CITY, Mexico—A report on progress made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean recommends six steps to improve health care and reduce maternal death in the region. The report was presented by Mexican President Vicente Fox and several United Nations agencies in Mexico City today.

The report found that, while the maternal mortality ratio in the region, averaging 190 deaths per 100,000 births for the past decade is not among the highest in the world, the statistics hide serious problems. These include lack of reliable sources for detecting and recording deaths, as well as considerable underreporting of deaths, particularly in the case of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants.

Statistics reveal huge disparities in maternal mortality within the region, with a small group of countries (Uruguay, Chile, Cuba, St. Lucia, Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica) with mortality levels below 50 deaths per 100,000 births, while Haiti by far has the most alarming rates in the region with 520 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. (see graph).

The report recommends: 

• A substantial reduction in unequal access to health care, often linked to poverty, gender, race, ethnicity and age.

• Better health care coverage under social protection plans.

• Increased public sector spending on health care.

• Re-orientation towards a new primary health-care strategy that encourages active involvement by users.

• Improvements in public health infrastructure, such as hospitals and medical equipment.

• Establishing policies and taking actions that have real impact in achieving the health targets laid down in the Millennium Development Goals.

“Maternal mortality is closely linked to the issues of women’s rights and poverty. It provides an indicator of gender inequities. The problem is therefore much bigger than just a health issue,” said Rogelio Fernandez Castilla, Director of the United Nations Population Fund’s Country Support Team, based in Mexico.

Improving maternal health is the fifth of the Millennium Development Goals. The target is to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio between 1990 and 2015. The goals were agreed to by world leaders at the Millennium Summit in New York in September 2000.

Contact Information:

Trygve Olfarnes, Regional Information Officer, UNFPA, olfarnes@unfpa.org, tel: +5255 1353-8451, or Iris Lujambio, UNFPA Mexico, lujambio@unfpa.org, tel: +5255 5263-9740.