Employing Technology to Empower Women: Improving Access to Maternal Health Care
Posted 1:55 PM by Internal Voices in Labels: 12th Edition |
UN Photo/John Isaac |
Jenna Gustafson, UNIC Washington DC
As an intern at the United Nations Information Centre in Washington DC, I am sent to cover a variety of events around the city on a regular basis. During these discussions held at think tanks, law schools, UN offices, and non-profit organizations, I hear a common sentiment echoed among panelists: technology is on the vanguard of women’s empowerment in developing countries. Speakers addressing a variety of topics, from long-term recovery efforts in Haiti to Internet and freedom of expression, have contributed to the premise that in developing countries especially, technology is a mechanism for women’s well-being and socio-economic advancement. One of the most important areas for improvement is access to maternal health care. Improving mothers’ access to much-needed, skilled reproductive health care is within the reach of technology.
Access to maternal and reproductive health care is part of Millennium Development Goal 5. MDG 5 is comprised of a two-fold objective for women’s health: 1) to reduce maternal mortality by one-third, and 2) to attain universal access to reproductive health care by the year 2015.
According to The 2009 Millennium Development Goals Report, statistics show that per 100,000 live births in developed countries, there are nine maternal deaths. In contrast, statistics from developing countries show 450 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Additionally, 85 percent of all maternal mortality occurs in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Facts and statistics provided by the non-governmental organisation Women Deliver, a major collaborative partner of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), indicate that “Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death and disability for young women” in the developing world. The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Report highlights a staggering statistic: over one third of maternal mortality is caused by postpartum hemorrhaging, a condition that can be treated or prevented. Preventing maternal mortality and morbidity is essential for the social and economic well-being of families, communities, and countries. According to Women Deliver, the work that women are not compensated for, labor in both the home and in the fields, equals approximately 1/3 of global GDP. This evidence demonstrates the magnitude of the socioeconomic contribution that women make to the world.
Mobile technology is fast becoming a way to supply mothers in developing countries with much-needed medical treatments. Jill Sheffield, Founder and President of Women Deliver, explained that one way technology serves to remedy postpartum hemorrhaging is through administering oxytocin via a device called the “BD Uniject ®”. This device can help to facilitate treatment. The Uniject®" is an intramuscular, pre-filled injection device that features a retracting needle to reduce risk of exposure for health-care workers and others while ensuring correct dosage requirements. Another treatment option for postpartum hemorrhaging is misoprostol, which is administered in pill form to produce blood coagulation within thirty minutes. Both medications can be found on the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines. Proper use of these treatments could contribute to reducing maternal mortality rates in developing countries.
The United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation have joined together in a public-private technology partnership, mhealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World. The joint partnership has produced projects in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Mobile technology has the capacity to transmit knowledge and awareness of health risks and prevention. Mobile technology can also facilitate real time data collection in addition to remote patient monitoring, diagnostic, and treatment support. Part of the technological impact on health and well-being in developing countries will likely also stem from open source software (computer software without expensive licenses, usually developed publicly) a cost-effective, efficient way to localize community development for sustainable innovation, independent of external consultants.
In Haiti, other types of technology are reportedly being used as a way for women to protect themselves. The UN Foundation is collaborating with UNFPA on initiatives for women’s health and safety in Haiti using technology. Solar lighting has been placed in tent camps as a method for increasing women’s safety. Women requested that LED lighting systems be set up near locations such as healthcare clinics and latrines, areas where women are particularly vulnerable to protection concerns such as gender-based violence.
Mobile technology is on the forefront of change. With greater availability of technological solutions, there appears to be more possibilities for improved maternal health care in developing countries. Already, innovative reproductive care and remedies directed at vulnerable women are beginning to surface in the quest to save the lives of women around the world. Perhaps innovative use of technology will generate a wider range of more accurate and reliable data collected in global research. Better data is necessary to expand the reach and response of health care for women in even the most remote regions. The role of technology continues to unfold in the pursuit to empower women across the world.
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