Watoto: A Woman's Worth
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Tuesday 23rd March 2010
March 8th was International Women's Day whilst on Sunday 14th March we celebrated Mother's Day. At COCO we took the time to reflect upon issues that women and in particular mother's face, especially those who we meet in our projects.
Baby TD's mother is just one of thousands of women in sub-Saharan Africa who are HIV positive and fear for their babies lives to such an extent that they abandon them. COCO are working to address the effects of HIV/AIDS within our projects and we are also aiming to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health.
As of November 2004, women accounted for nearly 50% of more than 37 million people living with HIV worldwide and for 60% in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa, it is estimated that 1 in 3 people are HIV positive. This epidemic is one of the biggest threats to poverty alleviation across the world. UNICEF estimates that roughly 500,000 children younger than 15 died of the disease in 2009 alone.
Meanwhile, 12 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have been affected by the death of one or both parents due to AIDS and thsi number is expected to exceed 18 million by the end of 2010.
Many women in COCO's projects have become widows due to HIV/AIDS and the effects of other diseases such as malaria. The Majengo Kitchen Project in Tanzania, which aims to feed over 500 nursery school children, was set up by a women's group, all of whom are widows. This demonstrates that despite the hardship and effects of disease, these women are making a difference and giving children a brighter future.
Not only do women in sub-Saharan Africa have to face the effects of disease but poverty also has an impact upon their maternal health, not to mention their prospects in life. Over 40% of all pregnancy-related deaths occur in this region, which only has 10% of the world's women. This is mainly due to poor access to clinics and hospitals in addition to unsanitary conditions.
Although maternal mortality ratios (the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) are declining globally, the decline is too slow to meet the Millennium Development Goal (to improve maternal health) target, whcih calls for a 75% reduction from 1990 to 2015. Meeting that goal would have required an annual drop of 5.5%, whereas the recorded declines have been less than 1%.
In Nkwawangya, a region close to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, COCO are working with local partners to improve public health facilities and set up a new clinic. The community live in a remote region, hgih up in the hills above Moshi and this clinic will mean that women and their families will not have to travel long distances to receive healthcare and that many women will be able to give birth in a safe environment with the facilities they require.
It is clear that many women in Africa face a multitude of obstacles due to poverty and the effects of disease. However, the women who COCO have met and worked with through our projects are women who are overcoming the barriers they face and are women who are helping other women and children in addition to looking for ways to make their futures brighter.
There is a brighter future possible for many women we work with, thanks to your support and fundraising.
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