Amnesty: Peru's pregnant Indian get unequal care

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thursday, 07.09.09
Amnesty: Peru's pregnant Indian get unequal care
By ANDREW WHALEN
Associated Press Writer

LIMA, Peru -- Peru's government doesn't provide adequate care for pregnant women in the impoverished highlands and jungle, a failure reflected in one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the hemisphere, a human rights group said Thursday.

"Health services for pregnant women in Peru are like a lottery. If you are poor and indigenous, the chances are you will always lose. The fact that so many women are dying from preventable causes is a human rights violation," Nuria Garcia, Amnesty International's researcher in Peru, said in a statement.

Peru's government says 185 women die for every 100,000 live births, but the United Nations estimates the number is really closer to 240 when unregistered cases are included. The average for Latin America and the Caribbean is 130 per 100,000 births. In wealthy industrialized nations, only 9 women die for every 100,000 births.

Amnesty says the high death rate in Peru can be attributed to lack of access to care for poor mothers, especially in the rural highland and jungle regions where nearly half the people are malnourished and 59 percent of indigenous communities do not have a health facility, according to government surveys. Roads and phone systems also are lacking.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/AP/story/1133804.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Amnesty decries Peru's high maternal death rate

Amnesty decries Peru's high maternal death rate
1 hr 18 mins ago

LIMA, Peru (AFP) – Peru has one of the highest maternal death rates in the Americas due to limited access to emergency care and shortage of health staff who speak indigenous languages, Amnesty International said Thursday.

As many as 185 women die per every 100,000 live births, according to official figures. The United Nations estimates the number of women dying in childbirth higher, at 240 per every 100,000 live births.

In the poorest regions of the country, the rate can soar to 200 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to a health ministry source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The rates of maternal mortality in Peru are scandalous," said Nuria Garcia, Peru researcher at the London-based international rights group.

"The fact that so many women are dying from preventable causes is a human rights violation. The Peruvian state is simply ignoring its obligation to provide adequate maternal healthcare to all women, regardless of who they are and where they live."

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090709/hl_afp/healthperupovertywomen_20090709215811

[Judi Lynn]

2. Peru: Maternal Health and Mortality - Facts and Figures & Case Studies

July, 08 2009
Peru: Maternal Health and Mortality - Facts and Figures & Case Studies
Facts and Figures

According to Peruvian government figures, 185 women die for every 100,000 live births in Peru. The United Nations puts the number at 240 – one of the highest in the Americas. (UNFPA)

27 per cent of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes occurred during pregnancy; 26 per cent occurred during the birth itself; and 46 per cent during the first six weeks after giving birth (Ministry of Health, Department of Epidemiology, 2007).

The five main causes of pregnancy-related deaths in Peru are: haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, infection, complications following abortion and obstructed birth (Ministry of Health, Department of Epidemiology, 2007).

In 2007, only 36.1 per cent of the women in the poorest sectors of society who
gave birth between 2002 and 2007 stated that the last time they had given birth was in
a health facility. The comparable figure for women in the richest sectors of society was
98.4 per cent (National Institute of Statistics and Information - INEI).

59.1 per cent of the communities covered by the 2007 national census of Indigenous Peoples did not have a health facility. Of those that did, 45.4 per cent had no more than a first aid post; 42.3 per cent had a health post (one of the most basic classifications of health facilities); and 10.9 per cent had access to a health centre (the next more equipped type of facility after a health post). (2007 National Census of Indigenous Peoples).

Although only just over a third of Peru’s population lives in rural areas, the rural population makes up more than 57.7 per cent of those living in poverty (National Institute of Statistics and Information, 2008).

More:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE200907081133&lang=e