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13 women die weekly in Mauritania while giving birth: UN agency

Xinhua, May 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Each week, 13 women die in Mauritania while giving birth, the Resident Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Cecile Compaore Zoungrana, has said.

Zoungrana was speaking on Thursday in the capital Nouakchott during an event to mark the International Day of the Midwife.

She lamented a lack of midwives for a population of 3.5 million people.

She cited a study conducted last year as saying 87 percent of these deaths during giving birth could be prevented if midwifery services were accessible and reliable.

UNFPA says maternal mortality rate in Mauritania stands at 586 out of 100,000, whereas infant mortality stands at 47 for every 1,000 live births.

Mauritania's health sector is suffering a serious shortage of doctors and other specialist personnel, which has forced the authorities to seek assistance from countries like Morocco and Tunisia. Endit