Last week marked the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty which has been observed on October 17th each year since 1993. It promotes people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and hardship worldwide, particularly in developing countries. It represents a day when we reinforce our commitment to erasing the suffering of millions of people worldwide and reaffirm our efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.
UN development Goal 5 aims to reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio. Organisations such as Health Poverty Action have contributed enormously to the pursuit of this goal. In 2010 alone, they trained 7,000 health staff and volunteers, provided 335,000 people with health treatment and 566,000 people with health education. Yet despite these critical efforts, much more needs to be done. Unfortunately, in countries like Sierra Leone, 1 in 8 women die as a result of pregnancy.There are three main reasons for this: A delay in deciding to seek care; a delay in reaching care on time and a delay in receiving adequate treatment.
Sierra Leone’s health system has suffered from decades of corruption and the destruction wrought by a long civil war. The few functioning hospitals are under-staffed and short on medical supplies and equipment. Today a population of 6 million relies on the services of fewer than one hundred doctors.
It’s a scandal because most of these deaths can be easily prevented. It’s rare for a woman in the developed world to die through pregnancy but in the developing world pregnancy is the number one killer of young women aged 15-19. Organisations such as Health Poverty Action and initiatives like the Faiths Act Fellowship serve as a reminder that the struggle against poverty is an ongoing pursuit and one that must remain as urgent as ever.
Cat Mansoor, Faiths Act Fellow, Health Poverty Action.
Click here to find out more about the work of the Faiths Act Fellows at Health Poverty Action.
