LONDON: Cuts to aid budgets are threatening to undermine years of progress in reducing the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth, and could lead to a rise in deaths, the United Nations has warned.
Globally, there was a 40 percent decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023, a report by UN agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) showed on Monday, largely due to better access to essential health services.
That could now go into reverse, the WHO said in a statement accompanying the report which did not mention specific cuts but came in the wake of a foreign aid freeze by the US government and the ending of funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for many programs.
Other donor countries including Britain have also announced plans to cut aid budgets.
“One of the headline messages is that the funding cuts risk not only that progress, but we could have a shift backward,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage at the WHO.
The cuts have had “pandemic-like effects” on health systems globally and could have a “more structural, deep-seated effect,” Aylward added.
The WHO said the cuts were already rolling back vital services for maternal, newborn and child health in many countries, reducing staff numbers, closing facilities and disrupting supply chains for supplies including treatments for hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia.
Cuts to other areas, such as malaria and HIV treatment, would also impact maternal survival, the UN said.
Even before the aid cuts led by the United States, things were backsliding in some countries, and progress has slowed globally since 2016, the report said.
In 2023, despite recent progress, a woman still died roughly every two minutes — around 260,000 in total that year — from complications that were mainly preventable and treatable, it added.
The situation was particularly bad in countries affected by conflict or natural disaster, although the US itself is one of only four countries to have seen its maternal mortality rate increase significantly since 2000, alongside Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
The COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact, the report said: 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth in 2021, bringing the total number of deaths that year to 322,000.
“While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today – despite the fact that solutions exist,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The report itself was part-funded by USAID.
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Aid cuts could leave more women dying in pregnancy and birth, UN says
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Aid cuts could leave more women dying in pregnancy and birth, UN says
- “One of the headline messages is that the funding cuts risk not only that progress, but we could have a shift backward,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage at the WHO
Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified
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All 40 victims of New Year fire now identified
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Prosecutors say ‘fountain candles’ likely cause of blaze
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Most of victims of bar fire were teenagers, youngest 14
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Couple who ran the bar under criminal investigation
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Pressure was building for answers on Monday from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the early hours of January 1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.
On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said anger over the case was growing.
“Why are the couple running the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le Constellation” bar.
The youngest victims of the blaze, which also injured well over 100 people, were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people.”
Salvini said there had been a failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.
SILENT PROCESSION
Aika Chappaz, a local resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.
All 40 victims of New Year fire now identified
*
Prosecutors say ‘fountain candles’ likely cause of blaze
*
Most of victims of bar fire were teenagers, youngest 14
*
Couple who ran the bar under criminal investigation
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Pressure was building for answers on Monday from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the early hours of January 1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.
On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said anger over the case was growing.
“Why are the couple running the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le Constellation” bar.
The youngest victims of the blaze, which also injured well over 100 people, were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people.”
Salvini said there had been a failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.
SILENT PROCESSION
Aika Chappaz, a local resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.
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