Published 22 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3908
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3908

News

Sierra Leone’s maternal mortality rate is a "human rights emergency"

Peter Moszynski

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

One in eight women in Sierra Leone risk dying during pregnancy or childbirth, says a report from Amnesty International. The charity’s secretary general, Irene Khan, said that this was partly due to the "extremely low status" of women in rural areas and was explicitly linked to the lack of women’s rights.

Lack of medical facilities and transport in many districts mean that a skilled birth attendant is present at less than half of deliveries in Sierra Leone and that less than a fifth of deliveries take place in healthcare facilities. However, "underlying the issue is the denial and neglect of maternal mortality in a male-dominated society," says the report.

Ms Khan explained: "In rural areas women are treated as minors under customary law. This means they cannot make decisions about their own bodies or health. Although the government has introduced laws on domestic violence, female inheritance, and registration of marriages . . . [Full text of this article]


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