Women in Burkina Faso face deadly health care obstacles in maternal health

3 February 2010 [MediaGlobal]: Amnesty International released a report titled “Giving Life, Risking Death” on 27 January 2010 detailing the issues women face around childbirth in Burkina Faso. Approximately 2,000 women die in childbirth each year. This is due in large part to inaccessibility to health centers, particularly advanced health centers. There are also many cases of women dying when they are unable to pay for necessary treatment. Inaccessibility of medical supplies, medicine, blood, and qualified medical personnel also exacerbate maternal mortality.

The Burkinabe government has made incremental improvements in healthcare in the last few years. The percentage of the national budget allocated for health spending has increased from 6.3 percent in 2001 to 8.42 percent in 2008. However this is significantly below the goal of 15 percent set by the African Heads of State at a summit in Abuja, Nigeria in 2001.

The average distance to a medical center is 4.66 miles, but with unreliable transport systems, women sometimes cannot reach medical assistance in time to treat complications. Furthermore, many of these centers cannot deal with difficulties in labor. The referral system is often too time consuming or lacks adequate emergency transport in order for women to reach advanced medical facilities at district, regional, or university hospitals in time to deal with any problems.

While the government subsidizes 80 percent of women’s health care cost, and in theory funds all medical costs for the poorest women, there is little accountability for these policies, and often medical personnel demand fees before treating patients. Individuals also must pay for their own medical supplies, adding unexpected costs that many Burkinabe are unable to afford.

Amnesty International is currently promoting awareness across the country with a campaign caravan that is stopping in various towns to open discussion about maternal mortality amongst the community and the government. Gaetan Mootoo, one of the researchers of the report explained to MediaGlobal, “We are trying to mobilize and inform the community to bring a clear message to the government regarding the number of obstacles around maternal mortality.”

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranked 177 out of 182 countries. Nonetheless, Amnesty International maintains that the government is responsible for protecting women’s right to life and healthcare and recommends that the Burkinabe government address the physical and financial obstacles women face to access essential maternal healthcare. Allyn Gaestel