Getting it right: improving maternal health through water, sanitation and hygiene (factsheet)
Each year 290,000 women die from complications during pregnancy, birth and the neonatal period; and an estimated 10 to 20 million women suffer from related health complications. Almost 90% of the maternal deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Much of this is preventable through practices that have long been established. Improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) provide significant health benefits reducing risks of bacterial and viral infections, parasitic infections and other diseases. Getting it right (published by Simavi) was written by Kathleen Shordt and Eefje Smet, consultants for IRC and reviewed by the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. The full report is available from the Simavi website, this factsheet gives a summary of the findings.
