Maternal mortality greatest threat to Afghan women, U.N. agency says

A recent study by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) stated that some 24,000 Afghan women die every year while giving birth, the U.N. News Service reported on March 3.

UNFPA representatives in Afghanistan noted that 1,600 of every 100,000 women that give birth there die in the process – about 25 times the number of people dying of security-related violent incidents. According to the article: “The reasons why so many Afghan women die while giving birth range from early marriage – more than half the girls are married before they reach 18 – and lack of health facilities, and skilled birth attendants to lack of education.

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