Nearly 6,000 women die each year from causes related to pregnancy in the Americas, according to data from the most recent report of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), published today.
Brazil, with 1,841 deaths of mothers due to pregnancy-related reasons, was ranked in 2016 as the first country with more reported maternal deaths per year, while Mexico, with 812, is in second place.
Despite these figures, PAHO, which studies a region that includes more than one billion people, argued that there are countries, such as the United States, that have reached “very low” levels of maternal mortality.
The study also reveals that mothers in the Americas have on average two children, far from the high rates of some African nations.
Another of the focuses studied by PAHO are the main causes of death in America.
According to the latest data, heart disease, cancer and strokes outweigh the communicable diseases as the main reasons for deaths in the region.
Throughout the Americas, the mortality rate from noncommunicable diseases is 427.6 persons per 100,000 inhabitants, seven times higher than the mortality rate due to communicable diseases, which is 59.9 persons per 100,000 inhabitants.
In 2017, the Latin American and Caribbean area reported approximately 580,000 cases of dengue (44% of this total was reported in Brazil), more than 31,000 cases of leprosy (almost 90% of Brazil) and more than 13,800 cases of cholera ( 99% of cases in Haiti).
On the other hand, the HIV diagnosis rate was 14.6 per 100,000 inhabitants throughout the region, and for every new diagnosis of HIV among women, there were 3.6 among men.
The analysis of health in the region also found that 13% of adolescents consume tobacco, a percentage that varies between countries, from a minimum of 3.8% in Canada to 25% in Chile and Dominica.
In addition, PAHO stressed that in the Americas there are 18 doctors, 59.7 nurses and 6.7 dentists per 10,000 inhabitants and that public spending on health as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is 5% on average. the whole region.
PAHO, which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), evaluates health conditions and different health parameters of America since 1902. (EFEUSA) .-
