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Maternal Health
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Despite life expectancy and healthcare improving across the world in recent years, child and maternal mortality rates remain stubbornly high in parts of Africa.
Child and maternal mortality 'remain big problems in Africa'
A new report from the charity Unicef has highlighted the huge number of children dying from pneumonia in Pakistan.Dr Tariq Iqbal and Dr Aurangzaib Kamal visited the country this week and held a forum on the disease - which is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus Pneumonia - in conjunction with the government of Balochistan and the Society of Social Development.
Unicef highlights Pakistan's problems with pneumonia and child mortality
Authorities in a Nigerian state have commended the success of efforts to save the lives of children and new mothers.The Delta State Government has been working to reduce child and maternal mortality rates in recent years and its methods have started to deliver positive results.
Nigerian state hails declines in maternal and child deaths
More needs to be done to reduce child mortality rates in Africa, the Ethiopian government has said.According to Kesetebirhan Admasu, minister of health in the country, Africa is currently at a critical juncture in its efforts to meet targets such as its 2015 Millennium Development Goals.
Ethiopia calls for more progress on tackling child mortality in Africa
Maternal and newborn health is, on average, improving across the whole continent of Africa, an expert has said.
Gifty Addico, a South Africa-based adviser for the UN Population Fund, was speaking after new figures in a UN report, entitled Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010, revealed that maternal mortality has declined by 41 per cent in the past decade in sub-Saharan Africa.
African maternal and newborn health 'improving'
The government in Zimbabwe may need to scrap plans for free maternity care due to budgetary constraints. Health and child welfare deputy minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said his ministry was set to receive US$10 million from the national budget for the maternity aid programme, but only US$6 million was approved, reports the Herald.
Zimbabwe 'may need to scrap free maternity care plans'
Malaria is responsible for 11 per cent of maternal deaths in Nigeria, it has been claimed.Professor Emmanuel Otolorin, Jhpiego country director, said there is a need to create awareness about the dangers of the disease to ensure pregnant women and children have access to malaria commodities, according to Premium Times.
Nigeria needs 'greater awareness' about malaria related maternal deaths
The president of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete has instructed the Dar es Salaam regional authorities to construct a new clinical facility that would be used solely for the purpose of improving the region's
Tanzania to build exclusive maternal and newborn health facility
New Zealand's perinatal mortality rate has fallen significantly for the first time since analyses began, the country's Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee (PMMRC) has reported.
The PMMRC started reviewing maternal and newborn health in 2007, when it recorded 3.6 perinatal mortalities per 1,000 births. The organisation's latest annual report shows that in 2011, the rate dropped to three deaths per 1,000 births.
New Zealand records drop in perinatal mortality
A group of organisations in Uganda have vowed to improve the country's maternal mortality rates through the implementation of a new programme.
The Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality in Uganda has cited funding issues regarding the provision and staffing of medical care as the reason for the lack of progress in reducing the problem.
Robinah Biteyi is a representative from the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, one of 50 organisations to sign up to the initiative.
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Uganda rallies to combat maternal deaths