234,000 reasons to celebrate International Women's Day
Posted 03-02-2015 at 10:34 AM by info4yourlife2015
The walls of the exam room at the Kallo Basic Health Clinic are covered with colourful charts and posters, offering information about healthy pregnancies, nutrition, and proper care for newborn babies.
Behind her desk, midwife Zarin Leqa reviews a medical chart from her stack of files. Her patient is about to enter the third trimester of pregnancy. Leqa checks the expectant mother's blood pressure, weighs her, and takes her temperature. When the baby comes, Leqa will be there to care for both mother and child during birth and in the weeks that follow.
It might seem like a routine check-up but the Kallo Clinic is in a mountainous part of northern Afghanistan, hours away from the nearest city. Opened eight years ago and serving thousands of local Afghans, this clinic offers basic pre-natal exams that can save an expectant mother's life – and the life of her baby.
Slowly but surely, health care is improving for women around the world. Are you aware of the progress?
In 1990, as many as 523,000 women died every year from complications related to childbearing. By 2013, that number had dropped by 45 percent according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That means 234,000 more women are surviving childbirth every year.
In Afghanistan, the results are even better. Maternal mortality has dropped by almost 70 percent since 1990. But there is still a long way to go. According to the WHO, one in 49 Afghan women still die due to pregnancy or childbirth.
In our country, this rate is dramatically lower, at one in 5,200. The difference? Most Canadian women are educated about their health during pregnancy, have routine check-ups, and can get emergency care if complications arise.
Canadian experts and organizations are playing a leading role in improving health for women and children worldwide. In 2014, our government announced $3.5 billion in funding to support maternal, newborn and child health worldwide, adding to an investment of $2.85 billion committed in 2010 to support this work.
Many interventions to improve maternal health are simple and cost-effective. Access to a trained birth attendant or community health worker, and accurate information about a healthy pregnancy and childbirth are sometimes all it takes to save a life.
Investing in maternal health is a key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty. When mothers are healthy, they can raise healthy children who grow up to contribute to their families and communities.
Behind her desk, midwife Zarin Leqa reviews a medical chart from her stack of files. Her patient is about to enter the third trimester of pregnancy. Leqa checks the expectant mother's blood pressure, weighs her, and takes her temperature. When the baby comes, Leqa will be there to care for both mother and child during birth and in the weeks that follow.
It might seem like a routine check-up but the Kallo Clinic is in a mountainous part of northern Afghanistan, hours away from the nearest city. Opened eight years ago and serving thousands of local Afghans, this clinic offers basic pre-natal exams that can save an expectant mother's life – and the life of her baby.
Slowly but surely, health care is improving for women around the world. Are you aware of the progress?
In 1990, as many as 523,000 women died every year from complications related to childbearing. By 2013, that number had dropped by 45 percent according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That means 234,000 more women are surviving childbirth every year.
In Afghanistan, the results are even better. Maternal mortality has dropped by almost 70 percent since 1990. But there is still a long way to go. According to the WHO, one in 49 Afghan women still die due to pregnancy or childbirth.
In our country, this rate is dramatically lower, at one in 5,200. The difference? Most Canadian women are educated about their health during pregnancy, have routine check-ups, and can get emergency care if complications arise.
Canadian experts and organizations are playing a leading role in improving health for women and children worldwide. In 2014, our government announced $3.5 billion in funding to support maternal, newborn and child health worldwide, adding to an investment of $2.85 billion committed in 2010 to support this work.
Many interventions to improve maternal health are simple and cost-effective. Access to a trained birth attendant or community health worker, and accurate information about a healthy pregnancy and childbirth are sometimes all it takes to save a life.
Investing in maternal health is a key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty. When mothers are healthy, they can raise healthy children who grow up to contribute to their families and communities.
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