Why are so many Asian women dying from childbirth?
In most of the Asian countries including Bangladesh, pregnancy comes with a significant risk of death. The WHO data reveals stark disparities across Asia when it comes to maternal mortality ratio - the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
In Nepal, 258 in 100,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes, compared with five in Japan, according to a WHO data.
Other Asian countries such as Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Bhutan didn't fare very well either.
Globally maternal mortality has been cut nearly in half over the past two decades, with annual number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births fell by 44% between 1990 and 2015, from approximately 385 to 216. But still every day somewhere on earth, 800 girls and woman dies due to pregnancy and child birth-related complications.
China, the world's most populous country, has made exceptional progress in reducing maternal mortality. China's maternal mortality rate has dropped substantially - by 71% - since 1991. In 2015, in China, 27 in 100,000 women died from pregnancy-related causes.
By contrast, in India 174 in 100,000 women died during childbirth in 2015. Given the population of India, the burden is huge. Over a quarter of the 529,000 maternal deaths that occur every year take place in India, as per WHO data.
India has had its success in reducing maternal mortality rate from 212 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007 to 178 deaths in 2012 to 174 in 2015 but still every year 136,000 women die from childbirth in India.
Copyright: DataLEADS/Asia News Network
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