Blog
May 25, 2012
Last week, the maternal health community received some positive news. According to a new report released by the World Health Organization, the number of women who died from pregnancy and childbirth complications dropped to 287,000 in 2010 -- a steep decline from the 358,000 maternal deaths reported in 2008. This progress is a testament to the committed actions of the maternal health community. However, these latest statistics also point to the fact that much work lies ahead. The world is still far off track to meet UN Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5), which calls for a 75 percent reduction in the maternal mortality rate by 2015.
May 22, 2012
This past March I traveled to India to join Dr. Julio Frenk, the Dean of Faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health, along with some faculty from the school and fellow members of the Board of Dean’s Advisors. I met up with everyone in New Delhi, having arrived in the middle of the night after about 20 hours combined flight time from New York. I pretty much hit the ground running as one must do when trying to squeeze in as much of an experience as possible in such a short period of time.
May 21, 2012
Her piercing cries are deafening. The midwives shake their heads in warning as I head towards the woman in the corner of the room.
Her back is to me. She is on her knees in an awkward split, one knee hanging off the side of the delivery bed. Her hands hold tightly to the top of the bed. She is naked, her filthy clothes scattered on the floor around her.
I gently take her arm and try and help her.
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