Every year, around 178,000 mothers in Africa die from complications related to childbirth. For their babies, the odds are just as dire: 1 million newborns die in the region each year.
According to Miriam Laker, a medical doctor and researcher working with the global charity GiveDirectly, traditional aid has made progress in terms of reducing maternal and child mortality. But many of the solutions were one-sided, meaning they failed to address the problem in totality.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, majority of the problems that mothers and babies face are related to either lack of services that they need to live healthily or lack of access to those services. Even in situations where health facilities might be present, the services are not free of charge,” Laker said.