Dying Mothers: An Exploration of Maternal Mortality Rates Among African Female Refugees

Abstract

The worldwide decline of maternal mortality rates has been lethargic, at best. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are eight ambitious targets set in 2000 to encourage worldwide development. While great strides have been made in certain areas, there has been comparatively little progress globally in terms of Millennium Development Goal 5, maternal mortality. Women are still dying at alarming rates while give birth, particularly in developing countries like those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several sources explicitly state that the maternal mortality rates in refugee camps are greater than the general figures. This suggests that circumstances causing refugee status, health issues endemic to refugee camps, and conditions within refugee camps are hindering the world’s ability to develop. Improving the maternal health of women is not beneficial solely to women; it is essential to the human race. Nonetheless, for numerous reasons, the goals for decreasing maternal mortality, which are arguably not overzealous, remain unmet, months after the 2015 deadline. The primary aim of this project is to identify and discuss some of these reasons. It is a comparative exploration of major health issues, like lack of access to care, threatening the lives of pregnant African female refugees, specifically in terms of reproductive health. The majority of the project is comprised of information acquired using literature review from sources like Amnesty International, UNHCR, and scholarly journals. This research combines several hypotheses and conclusions in an attempt to understand and decrease maternal mortality in refugee camps and help save the world’s dying mothers.