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  • Title: Maternal and child health deteriorates in developing world.
    Journal: IPPF Open File; 1994 Feb; ():1. PubMed ID: 12318682.
    Abstract:
    Although increasing numbers of women and children are utilizing health care services in the Third World, health indicators fail to show the expected improvement and, in Africa, maternal-child health status continues to deteriorate. The risk of maternal mortality for African women 15-44 years of age is 1 in 23. Worldwide, there are 4.2 million infant deaths each year and 17% of infants are low birth weight. In response to this situation, the WHO's Executive Board plans to require evidence of program performance and high quality of care as a prerequisite for any major investments in maternal and newborn health care. WHO estimates that improvements in the quality of care of women and children already enrolled in health services could reduce mortality by as much as 50%. Large numbers of health workers fail to test for anemia or measure blood pressure; in other cases, these essential tasks cannot be performed because of a lack of equipment and supplies. Inequities in access to care remain a major problem; however, even when services are available, many women do not use them because of culturally insensitive staff or a nonresponsiveness to community needs. WHO is calling, in addition, for an increased commitment throughout the health system to family planning, more attention to training health workers, improvements in the quality of maternal-child health care at district-based stations, and application of standard WHO methods in the diagnosis and treatment of common maternal-child conditions.
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