Topic:
Country: Spain
Delegate Name: Aastha Patel
UN Women
Improving Maternal Health
Kingdom of Spain
Aastha Patel
Forest Hills Eastern
Improving the well-being of women during their childbearing years is vital. Despite the significant progress in the last two decades regarding maternal health, many women still lack adequate healthcare. About 295,000 women died during or after pregnancy and childbirth in 2017. With access to quality healthcare, most maternal deaths are preventable. As a result of the lack of quality healthcare, women in developing nations are affected to a greater extent. Developing countries continue to account for 99 percent of all deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia account for 87 percent of global maternal deaths, corresponding to 313,000 deaths. In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman’s risk of dying from preventable or treatable complications of pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 31, compared to 1 in 4300 in the developed regions Additionally, many women and girls are systematically denied access to health care due to gender discrimination, poverty, distance from health facilities, and lack of information.
The Kingdom of Spain has made numerous efforts to improve maternal health care. Healthcare in Spain is free for all residents who work and live in the country and Spain’s Social Security System pays for maternal healthcare services. We have relatively high medical contact with pregnant women regarding healthcare. There are more antenatal tests, scans, and interventions during childbirth than in other countries. Spain’s maternal mortality is 4 deaths per 100,000 births. A reason for such a low mortality rate is that women can access information regarding pregnancy and maternal clinics and hospitals without traveling far.
To ensure that all women have access to high-quality maternity care, it is imperative to address all the factors that contribute to this issue. Some factors include access to a healthcare provider, skilled care during childbirth, and care and support during postpartum. It is also vital to address ways to reduce disease and infections before, during, and after birth. Spain is willing to support any country through financial aid and requests other nations, who are financially stable, to donate money toward organizations such as Maternal, Infant, and Child Health and The Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, who work toward improving maternal health around the world, especially in developing countries. Spain urges nations to donate vaccines and medication to reduce diseases and infections to new mothers and newborns. The goal of ending preventable maternal deaths must remain a top priority for the international community.
