Month: September 2009

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New report on maternal mortality in Sierra Leone

AI secretary general Irene Khan visits a maternity ward at a hospital in Sierra Leone.

AI secretary general Irene Khan visits a maternity ward at a hospital in Sierra Leone.

Adama Turay was supposed to be cuddling her newborn. Instead, she was fighting for life after the birth of her first child.

She was bleeding and sick after delivery. Her family knew something was wrong, but they didn’t have money for a doctor.

They somehow managed to raise enough for a taxi to take her to the hospital, but during the 40-minute ride to the nearest medical facility, Adama died.

“The fear of what it would cost prevented her from seeking the medical attention that she really needed,” said Sarah Kabbia, Adama’s sister.

Amnesty International’s new report, Out of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone shows us a bleak, terrifying situation for pregnant women and their families:

  • A higher proportion of women in Sierra Leone die in childbirth and pregnancy than almost anywhere else in the world.
  • Women and their families are forced to negotiate and pay for equipment and medications, and provide their own food and water, while they’re in a health facility, at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.
  • Most people live far away from a medical facility and cannot afford transportation costs to a hospital or doctor.

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Political instability resulted in abuse of human rights and democracy in Honduras

Two months ago, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from his home at gunpoint by 300 troops. He was forcibly put on a plane and has only managed to step foot in his home country for roughly two hours since.

In the meantime, a de facto government has assumed power, violently punishing all those who courageously speak out – dealing a powerful blow to democracy and human rights.

The people of Honduras voted for a democratic government, but in the most undemocratic fashion possible, they are in danger of losing that right, among many others. The de facto government has used its unchecked power to conduct mass arrests and police and military-sanctioned beatings against any vocal oppositional figures.

Extreme instability and political unrest have forced the people of Honduras to take to the streets in protest. Amnesty International researchers have been on the ground since the coup took place and have documented widespread police beatings of students, reporters, political leaders and other activists. Women and media workers have been particularly vulnerable to the violence.

For further information, read the new report from Amnesty International.