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AMDD Director Discusses Saving Women’s Lives on WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show

Posted on Jun 22 2010

Lynn Freedman, director of AMDD, appeared on the Leonard Lopate Show to talk about maternal mortality. She discussed the recent study on maternal mortality published in the April 2010 edition of the Lancet, barriers to life-saving maternal care, and the role of health systems in preventing maternal death. Dr. Grace Kodindo, medical and advocacy adviser for the RAISE Initiative, a sister program of AMDD at the Mailman School of Public Health in the Department of Population & Family Health at Columbia University, was also a guest on the show.

Listen to the podcast here.

Our work is urgent

  • Over 7 million pregnancy-related deaths, including maternal deaths, newborn deaths, and stillbirths happen each year. That’s 50% more than the annual deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.
  • 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries.
  • 75% of maternal deaths can be prevented by skilled health care providers backed up by emergency obstetric care (EmOC).
  • We have until 2015 to reduce maternal deaths by 75% to meet Millennium Development Goal 5. We can’t do this without strong health systems that ensure universal access to EmOC.