Maternal mortality and morbidity: a human rights imperative

摘要

Maternal mortality and morbidity continue to be a serious human rights concern—it is estimated that 287000 women died of maternal causes in 2010.1 There is increased understanding that this is a human rights crisis that stems from discrimination against women, which manifests, for example, in violence against women, underprioritisation and underfunding of services and goods that only women require, and lack of accountability mechanisms to respond to maternal deaths and injuries.2 A human rights-based approach to maternal mortality and morbidity has been advocated by human rights experts for many years,3-4 and has also gained traction among public health experts and other professionals.5 An important example of this evolution is the 2012 report of the independent Expert Review Group,6 which was mandated to monitor progress on the UN Secretary-General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health and included a specific recommendation on human rights.