Bridging the Gap: Tackling Maternal and Child Health Disparities Between Developed and Underdeveloped Countries

The health of mothers and children is important for a healthy world. Nonetheless, the global situation in this aspect seemingly deteriorates. Although maternal-child health (MCH) goals have been developed to curb the effects of maternal and child mortality on a global scale, significant challenges are still evident. Thus, serious disparities between developed and underdeveloped countries are registered. Specifically, with insufficient funding and lack of access to limited health services in developing nations, millions of mothers and children continue to die, which hampers the economic progress and development of these countries. Nursing entails a combination of proactive and transnational efforts to end these deaths since they are preventable. In other words, the maternal and child health global situation requires nurses’ cooperation in prevention and care to reflect equality among developed and developing countries. The analysis of global maternal and child health issues in both developed and underdeveloped nations is an important aspect that will help effect global nursing strategies to promote universal health coverage for this population categorization.

The Global Situation of Maternal and Child Health

Multiple factors affect the health of pregnant women, new mothers, and their children. However, most maternal and child deaths are caused by preventable illnesses and complications. According to Kuruvilla et al., approximately 300,000 maternal deaths occur from preventable causes of part or childbirth. In addition, six million children under the age of five die from preventable causes annually. Nevertheless, a significant disparity between developing and developed countries has been observed, whereby most of these mortality rates are registered in the latter. Notably, Bhutta and Black claim that almost two-thirds of all maternal and newborn deaths can be attributed to only 10 developing countries. Additionally, the World Health Organization has acknowledged that despite the advances in attaining set standards for improving maternal and child health, mortality rates are still high, with developing countries feeling the impacts stronger than developed ones. Specifically, the levels of maternal and infant/newborn mortality rates are unacceptably high in sub-Saharan African countries and Southern Asia, while the majority of European states and other developed nations have very insignificant rates of such deaths. Thus, high maternal and child mortality rates tend to cripple the economies of affected countries.

Order Now