U.N.: $24 billion could slash infant, maternal deaths

Posted on December 7, 2009
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Maternal deaths in developing countries could be slashed by 70 per cent and newborn deaths cut by nearly half if investment in family planning and pregnancy care was doubled, the United Nations said Thursday.

A U.N.-backed report said investments in family planning and birth control would boost the effectiveness spending on pregnancy and newborn health care, suggesting investing in both together could achieve ‘dramatic’ results.

“Investing in a handful of basic health services, like family planning and routine delivery care, can save millions of women and babies,” said Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute, a think-tank which studies reproductive health and which released the report with the U.N Populations Fund (UNFPA).

“It’s not rocket science. These are mostly simple services that can be provided inexpensively at the local level, supplemented by provision of urgent care when needed.”

Experts estimate that more than half a million new mothers and 3.5 million newborn babies die in developing countries each year and say many of those deaths are easily preventable.

The report said doubling current spending to $24.6 billion would prevent the early deaths of almost 400,000 women and 1.6 million babies, cut unintended pregnancies by more than two-thirds and reduce by 75 percent the number of unsafe abortions and resulting complications.

http://www.ippf.org/en/News/Intl+news/UN+24+billion+could+slash+infant+maternal+deaths.htm