MULTIPLE FACTORS:
Infection worries or concerns about violence are fueling a secondary crisis as the already severe maternity mortality rate grows steeper
Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly after this year’s Ebola outbreak was declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Midway into her pregnancy, the 26-year-old feared being put into isolation simply for having a fever, a common misconception.“That’s why I’m waiting until the disease is no longer widespread,” she said from her home in Bunia, the epicenter of the outbreak declared in May.That could be a deadly mistake.
Elodie, who is eight months pregnant, looks on outside her house in Bunia, DR Congo, on June 16.
Maternal mortality across Ituri province doubled as news of the outbreak spread, with about six women dying each week due to childbirth complications, said Noemi Dalmonte, deputy country representative of the UN Population Fund in Congo.While there was an average of 3.1 maternal deaths weekly this year before the outbreak, that jumped to 5.8 deaths from May 25 to July 19.
