International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

The high maternal mortality rates in Africa need to be addressed by more money being spent on improving healthcare for both mothers and infants.

Irungu Houghton, the pan-African director for Oxfam, told AlertNet that African leaders meeting in Uganda's capital Kampala needed to make sure there was free access to maternal and infant care.

"There are more women dying from complications related to childbirth than there are who die from other diseases and pandemics."

Mr Houghton said one of the reasons maternal and infant mortality rates are high in African nations is because there are user fees on healthcare and not everyone has the finances to pay for services.

Oxfam is calling for African governments to abolish the charges, as it believes introducing free healthcare could reduce the number of deaths of women and children.

According to children's charity Unicef, in sub-Saharan African, a woman has a one in 16 chance of dying during pregnancy or in childbirth.

Posted by Carla Mackenzie