Date: Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:36:49 -0800
Subject: Giving life, risking death
From: "Amnesty International USA" alerts@takeaction.amnestyusa.org

 
Safiatou has the right to a safe birth. She died on the back of a borrowed motorcycle on the way to a clinic. Her death was preventable.

Stand up for the women of Burkina Faso. Defend their right to maternal health care.


Dear --,

Two simple things might have saved Safiatou's life - information and transportation. But she was poor and pregnant in Burkina Faso, which put her life at risk.

According to a nurse who saw her days before she died, Safiatou had no prenatal care and suffered from anemia. She didn't even know that iron supplements were important and that the local clinic gave the pills to pregnant women free of charge.

Safiatou gave birth at home without the help of a trained birth attendant. After her delivery she hemorrhaged badly and required emergency care.

With no way to get to the health center, her husband borrowed a motorcycle, but it had no fuel. He had to push the motorcycle 10 km to get gas.

Safiatou died on the back of the motorcycle before she even got to the health center.

Speak up for the mothers of Burkina Faso. Pressure the government to act now.
-> www.amnestyusa.org/countries/burkinafaso/bfpetition.php


Maternal mortality is a seething crisis in Burkina Faso. More than 2,000 women die each year in this West African country from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Our new report, Giving Life, Risking Death - Maternal Mortality in Burkina Faso¹, exposes the persistent, harsh reality faced by Burkinabe women like Safiatou. Its findings fuel our calls on the government to make immediate changes to ensure the rights of women.

We ask the government of Burkina Faso to:
* allocate care equitably, prioritizing the poorest regions with the worst rates of maternal death
* lift the obstacles -- including financial, geographic and quality barriers -- that block poor, rural women from accessing life-saving obstetric care

We know that improved care for women in Burkina Faso is possible. We've seen the success the launch of our first West African maternal mortality campaign had in Sierra Leone. Our efforts there attracted national attention and forced a positive response from authorities.

So to begin building that same momentum for change on the ground, we recently kicked off a caravan tour in Burkina Faso - mobilizing local partners to advocate at the national level. So far, the signs from Burkinabe officials have been encouraging. But we need to make sure Burkina Faso moves off the mark, to respect, protect and fulfill the human right to health care.

Safiatou's death was preventable and a violation of her human rights. Demand dignity for the girls and women of Burkina Faso.
-> www.amnestyusa.org/countries/burkinafaso/bfpetition.php

Together we can help stop these tragic deaths.


Thank you for taking action today,

Sameer Dossani
Director, Demand Dignity Campaign
Amnesty International USA

1) www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR60/001/2009/en/01a16002-4f7c-47d9-8a18-9961f1def4b1/afr600012009en.pdf

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