Human Rights Watchdog Exposes Choked Maternity Care in South Africa
by Neeraj Shahane, August10,2011
In a recent shocking report by the New York-based Human RightsWatch, it has come to revelation that South Africa’s maternalmortality rate has gone up by almost four times as compared to that in other African countries.
Though HIV /AIDS infection is widely spread in Africa, the number of deaths during delivery is on an alarming rise, thereby exposing the dithering maternity services in the hospitals.
The report, encompassing horrific tales of 157 women between August 2010 and April 2011, has highlighted that the stigma attached with HIV/AIDs has somewhat played major role in stimulating maternal deaths.
A large number of cases were discussed in the report which highlighted that insensitive treatment was being provided to the admitted expecting mothers.
Leave aside being treated, a HIV women is being looked down with disdain.
“All South Africa’s good intentions, policies and strategies on paper won’t save women’s lives without strong accountability systems to make sure policies are carried out”, Agnes Odhiambo, the chief researcher for the HRW project.
Looking at the current maternal mortality rate, it won’t be wrong to say that achieving the U. N. millennium development goals, which require 38 deaths per 100,000 births by 2015, is a far dream for South Africa.
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