No Mother Left Behind: How Conflict Exacerbates The Global Maternal Health Challenge
by The Daily Eye Team November 10 2016, 1:25 pm Estimated Reading Time: 0 mins, 40 secsDOT-MOM No Mother Left Behind: How Conflict Exacerbates the Global Maternal Health Challenge November 7, 2016 By Nancy Chong AMISOM-clinic Since the end of World War II, the number of wars between states has declined significantly, but the number of intrastate civil conflicts – as seen in Syria and Afghanistan – has increased. In many conflict-stricken, fragile countries today, individuals live in a “gray zone”: neither fully at war nor fully at peace. This development has played a significant but hidden role in holding back efforts to improve maternal health and women’s status. Every day, about 800 women die from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth—and more than half of those deaths take place in fragile states afflicted with armed conflict or high levels of violence.