High maternal mortality rate one of many challenges facing Afghanistan

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the United Nations undersecretary-general and executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, said today that family planning can go a long way towards reducing Afghanistan’s high maternal mortality rate, Reuters reported.

“Afghan women have among the highest deaths as a result of pregnancy and complications in the world,” Obaid said at a news conference today. She added that one Afghan mother passes away for every 60 childbirths. To help combat the problem, Obaid pointed to the necessity of family planning, ensuring that trained birth attendants are present, and emergency hospital care accessible. Obaid also noted the importance of spacing out pregnancies, which would allow many Afghan mothers to regain their strength and health between pregnancies. She added: “The principle of family planning is well-enshrined in the Koran. The Koran says that women should nurse for two years, it was a form of family planning.”

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