Sudan, one of world's most dangerous places for mothers

A Sudanese woman

A UNICEF official, Nils Kastberg says Sudan is one of the world's most dangerous places for mothers.

He told reporters this Wednesday during a press conference at the headquarters of the UN Mission in Sudan's capital, Khartoum that some 26,000 women in Sudan face death annually while giving birth out of a population of over 40 million people.

This, he noted is a comparably larger figure to less than 10,000 maternal deaths per year in the entire Latin American and Caribbean region which is home to 550 million people.

However, the UNICEF Representative stressed, “The maternal deaths in Sudan are “preventable, adding, “It is a question of stopping the bleeding in time; it is a question of having the health staff where they should be; it is a question of health staff washing their hands; it is a question of her being close to a place where she can receive care that could save her life at the moment of giving birth.”

He also sounded the alarm on the deaths of 305,000 Sudanese children under the age of five every year due to preventable causes, with over one-third losing their lives in the first 28 days of life, coupled with nearly three million of them who are not in school.

Mr Kastberg, nonetheless, expressed hope that over the next three years, maternal and child mortality rates will be slashed by one-third through the provision of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and other measures, with school attendance jumping up by one-third.

“Sudan, more than ever, needs peace,” he underscored.

By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana