"Ugandan women go to court over maternal mortality; Women appeal to court for help" by Rodney Muhumuza | Associated Press, June 14, 2012
KAMPALA, Uganda - More than 100 women die in childbirth each week in Uganda, a heartbreaking statistic that has energized activists to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to force the government to put more resources toward maternal health care to prevent the wave of deaths....
Meaning close to another 200 have died between when this was published, when I posted it, and when you are reading it.
Uganda loses 16 women in childbirth daily, a figure some activists emphasize on placards during regular marches in the streets of the Ugandan capital. Most of these deaths occur in villages where bad roads and poverty make it difficult for women to reach health centers. Even when they get there, some say, the available care is poor.
Health centers have been built in villages across Uganda, but the structures are usually devoid of equipment and medicine.
Potemkin health clinics. So in who$e pocket did all the money end up?
Ugandan newspapers frequently tell of midwives and nurses who treat women in labor with a lack of compassion. And at times, when the caregivers are overwhelmed, some women are left to die.
Gee, the world has plenty of money for weapons, wars, official government functions, and Wall Street bailouts, but nothing for the Ugandan women, 'eh?
Valente Inziku, a Ugandan man who lost his wife and baby in 2010, blamed the government. The hospital in northern Uganda where his wife went had no delivery kit that Sunday morning, and the midwives were greatly outnumbered by the patients, he said. The nurses asked him to buy gloves that were never used.
:-(
--more--"
It was worth it even if it was a one-day wonder.
Also see: In statement, Uganda appears to recognize rights of gays
Some things are more important, ladies.
