Woman dies giving birth, care lacking in Jebel Marra

A women died in labour in a village near Deribat in East Jebel Marra on Wednesday. There was no adequate medical care or an ambulance available.

The woman died in Talba, north of Deribat, in the most mountainous area of Darfur. One of her relatives told Radio Dabanga that there was no adequate medical care, or an ambulance to transport her to El Fasher.

“There has been a lack of health facilities in Jebel Marra recently. This causes an increase in the mortality rates of pregnant women and women in labour in this area,” he said.

Medical sources reported that health services are “entirely absent” in large parts of East Jebel Marra, while the government of South Darfur continues to deny medics access to the area.

In 2015, the federal Ministry of Health in South Darfur reported it has the highest maternal mortality rate in Sudan, without the government being able to reduce the figures.

Maternal mortality is higher with women living in rural areas and among poorer communities, according to the World Health Organization.

In Darfur, nearly 40 percent of women giving birth have a higher chance of dying than pregnant women in Khartoum, the UN reported a few years ago. In 2008, 436 out of 100,000 women died in labour.