Less than 500 days to the deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), improving maternal health, the fifth of the eight goals, is the great challenge of Brazil and the world. From 1990 to 2011, Brazil has reduced by 55% the rate of deaths of pregnant women – i.e., the rate fell from 141 to 64 deaths per 100 000 live births in two decades.
This reflects a greater advance than the average for Latin America and the world, whose reductions were only 45%, according to the 5th National MDG Progress Report, released in May 2014, at the Arena of Social Participation in Brasilia.
To further reduce maternal mortality, federal, state and local governments and civil society need to intensify efforts for Brazil to reach 3/4 of the level observed in 1990.
Ieva Lazareviciute, the Program officer of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), calls the attention to maternal deaths that often occur for reasons that could have been avoided during prenatal visits or medical care.
"The work to reduce maternal mortality deserves all our effort and attention and is mainly based on prevention. As a mother, I get very sad when a woman dies in a moment that could be the happiest day of her life", she said.
Ana Paula de Andrade Viana, nurse and coordinator of the Curumim Group, Recife (PE), responsible for the practice “Inclusion and Recognition of Traditional Midwives to Health System', one of the winning practices of the 5th Edition of the MDGs Award, reinforces the need for humanization of obstetric assistance and strengthening of traditional midwives as an important link between the community and health services.
"Our practice focuses on developing networks and promoting the exchange of policies for maternal health care", said the nurse. "Our target audience is the traditional midwives and health professionals such as nurses, doctors and public managers, respecting local traditions and cultures, thus improving the indicators related to the health of women and children," he adds.
The practice, developed almost 25 years ago, has already been implemented in 17 states, directly reaching more than 1,500 traditional midwives, including indigenous and maroon communities and about 1300 health professionals.
According to the Plan of Action of the Board of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), about 95% of maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean could be avoided with the know-how that countries have today.
The most common causes of maternal deaths are hypertension, hemorrhage, unsafe abortion and puerperal infection (period up to 42 days after delivery). Violence against women is another risk factor for maternal death.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than half a million women worldwide die each year from maternal causes and social implications are devastating, such as family dysfunction and orphanhood of an unknown number of children. It is estimated that these orphans have a risk 5-10 times more likely to die before reaching two years than children who live with their parents.
During the Arena of Social Participation, UNDP staff asked the participants what the MDG they would defend for the end of 2015. Most of them replied that MDG 5 is a priority.
MDG Project
UNDP supports and monitors the actions taken to achieve the MDGs in Brazil through Project MDG 2015, in partnership with the General Secretary of the Presidency (GS/PR) and the National Movement for Citizenship and Solidarity/Yes We Can.
The project has the support of Banco do Nordeste, Furnas, Sebrae, Caixa Economica Federal, Banco do Brasil and Petrobras, which enabled the creation of 27 state, 132 municipal and 40 regional MDG Cores nationwide. Several actions and activities have been developed in recent years to strengthen the fight against inequality and accelerate the achievement of the MDGs.
The mobilization of all to the success of achieving the MDGs is reflected on the success of future Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will enter into force after 2015.
Source: UN BR
