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 More than 500 women a day die from complications arising from
pregnancy and childbirth in states facing conflict or disaster, a
U.N. population fund (UNFPA) study said, three fifths of maternal
deaths occurring in these "fragile" countries.
"The health and rights of women and adolescents should not be
treated like an afterthought in humanitarian response," Babatunde
Osotimehin, executive director of UNFPA, said in a statement on the
study.
"For the pregnant woman who is about to deliver, or the adolescent
girl who survived sexual violence, life-saving services are as vital
as water, food and shelter."
Women in need of aid because of conflict or disaster are more
vulnerable to sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases and
unwanted pregnancies, he said.
"Having the means to prevent a pregnancy and being safe from sexual
violence — these are basic human rights. Women don't stop giving
birth when a conflict breaks out or disaster strikes."
Some 59.5 million people worldwide are currently displaced by
conflict - around a fifth of them Syrians, the largest number since
the end of World War Two, the UNFPA study said.
While sprawling refugee camps like Dadaab in Kenya and Zaatari in
Jordan get much of the media's attention, two in three refugees live
in urban areas. For the minority who do live in camps, the average
stay is 20 years, the study said.
Directing humanitarian aid to protect women of childbearing age is
crucial, both to lessen present suffering and reduce it in the
future, but current resources are insufficient, Osotimehin said.
"We need to do a much better job of helping the most vulnerable,
especially adolescent girls. But we must also do a much better job
of investing in a more stable world, capable of withstanding the
storms ahead."
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DISASTERS IN ASIA
While the Asia-Pacific region is home to many long-running
conflicts, it also suffers the most disasters in the world, with a
continuous onslaught of floods, typhoons and droughts.
UNFPA ramped up humanitarian assistance after Cyclone Pam hit
Vanuatu in March, twin earthquakes hit Nepal a month later, and
Cyclone Komen in Myanmar and Typhoon Koppu in the Philippines caused
flooding in both countries.
The agency said it is finding it increasingly difficult to ensure
that it can meet the demands for help in a timely manner.
"2015 has been such a challenging year. Across the Asia-Pacific
region, we remain largely underfunded to meet the minimal sexual and
reproductive health and protection needs of women and adolescents in
emergencies," said Priya Marwah, UNFPA humanitarian coordinator for
the Asia-Pacific.
(Reporting By Joseph D'Urso and Alisa Tang, editing by Tim Pearce.
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