Topic:
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Nadia Clark
Country: South Africa
Delegate: Nadia Clark
School: Williamston High School
Committee: WHO
Topic: Maternal Mortality
There are a number of different things that could cause a mother’s death while she’s giving birth and unfortunately they aren’t all fixable. However actions can be taken to help prevent these complications from arising. South Africa has taken measures to help protect women during pregnancy by establishing the allowance of guaranteed abortion up to 12 weeks after getting pregnant, the allowance of abortion up to 20 weeks if the pregnancy could kill or harm the woman, consistent research into vaccines for HIV/AIDs, the Basic Antenatal Care Plus (BANC) plan which requires a number of 8 doctoral visits throughout the pregnancy to protect the health of the mother and the baby and ensure that the baby will be delivered safely, facility based births, and free maternity care across the majority of the country.
Some of the leading causes of a woman’s death during birth in South Africa are AIDS/HIV, non-pregnancy related infections, hypertension, obstetric haemorrhage, and miscarrige. Nearly all causes of maternal mortality in South Africa relate to a woman’s overall health before and during pregnancy. The maternal mortality rate has always been unfortunately high in South Africa, with a rate of 118 deaths per 100,000 births the ideal is zero. The WHO has also been working to decrease the number of maternal deaths by continuing and improving research, providing people with evidence based suggestions so that they make the best decisions for their babies and providing technical support to member states for implementing policies and programs that protect mothers as much as possible for when they give birth.
South Africa will continue to look for ways to improve maternal healthcare as well as maintain the policies that protect pregnant women. For unpredictable causes of death during birth, like the miscarriages and the obstetric haemorrhages, (which cannot be predicted before a woman actually gives birth to a baby) South Africa will push to improve healthcare so that all hospitals will always be equipped to handle these circumstances. South Africa plans to continue advancing hospital care and preparing hospitals so that a hospital will always be equipped to handle any situation, especially the ones that jeopardize a pregnant woman’s health. South Africa will continue to work with the WHO to plan an incontestable plan that keeps the mother and the child in mind, and ensures that the mother gives birth safely to a healthy baby. South Africa would like to work with countries that have policies they’d be willing to explain and any resources they’d be willing to share so that South Africa can decrease the numbers of maternal deaths per birth.
Sources:
https://www.health.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Fact-sheet-Saving-Mothers-2022.pdf
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1173514/
https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/research/decreasing-maternal-mortality-in-south-africa/#:~:text=The%20Mphatlalatsane%20initiative%20is%20a%20Quality%20Improvement,quality%20facility%2Dbased%20births%20*%20Improving%20immunization%20uptake
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7941100/
