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The reduction in maternal mortality rate is a positive sign for Nepal, which has one of the highest rates of mothers dying during pregnancy or childbirth. Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, Nepal’s national coordinator for the international nongovernmental White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, says the improvement is the result of years of hard work by healthcare workers and various agencies working at the grass roots level.
The White Ribbon Alliance, which promotes proper care for mothers and infants around the world, is invested in reducing maternal mortality in developing nations like Nepal, Yemen, Rwanda, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malawi. Last year it sent Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson to Nepal on a mission to gather support for maternal healthcare in the country.
Such a high-profile visit certainly brought maternal mortality into the national debate in Nepal. Deuba says that because of heightened awareness and a realization among the people that this is an issue of national priority, there has been a significant change in the way private businesses view maternal mortality.
A number of banks donated to Nepal's safe motherhood initiative – a rare occurrence in Nepal, where the general perception is that for any development or social project money will come from international donor organizations or the government.
There is also a national effort under way in the country to include safe motherhood and newborn health into Nepal's new Constitution. The Safe Motherhood Network Federation, under Deuba’s leadership, is working with Constituent Assembly members, experts and the general public to “include safe motherhood and neonatal health as a fundamental right of Nepalese women and children in the new Constitution of Nepal.”
The bill is currently being finalized and will be presented to the Ministry of Health and Population. Deuba says she is confident that the bill will be passed and a law to support its implementation will be enacted in time. She says that major political parties, including the Maoists, have so far supported the effort.
Constitutionally mandating Nepalese women's right to safe motherhood will no doubt empower women and force the government to invest in women's health, but judging by the present political instability in the country, it seems there is still a long way to go before this dream becomes a reality.
Hundreds of committed healthcare workers, doctors, activists and organizers are working every day to insure that no mother dies from preventable causes. But for the politicians and Constituent Assembly members, this national priority is of no concern. They keep on bickering and engaging in infighting, completely disregarding the urgency of completing the Constitution on time.
While the politicians take time to figure out what is important, Deuba, the White Ribbon Alliance and hundreds of others committed to the issue continue to fight for Nepali mothers. This is just another day in Nepal, where the real national priorities always seem to take a back seat to the cheap political goals of a handful of people.
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(Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter. Her articles have been published at OhMyNews, NepalNews, Toward Freedom, Telegraph Nepal, Himal South Asian and ACM Ubiquity. She is also a regular contributor to News Front Weekly, in Kathmandu, and Nepal Abroad, in Washington D.C. She can be reached at bhumika_g@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Bhumika Ghimire.)
