The World's Most Preventable Crisis: Why Modern Medicine Still Fails Half the Planet

Written by Anvi Sharma & Emilia Kim

Every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The tragedy isn't just in the numbers – it's in the fact that we already have the medical knowledge and basic tools to prevent these deaths. Yet in 2024, a woman's chance of surviving childbirth still depends largely on where she lives and how much money she has.

In Norway, a woman's lifetime risk of maternal death is 1 in 17,000. In Sierra Leone, it's 1 in 20. This staggering disparity isn't due to some complex medical mystery – it comes down to basic access to medical care, clean facilities, and trained healthcare workers. While wealthy nations debate the latest pharmaceutical breakthroughs, women in many parts of the world lack access to basic antibiotics, clean surgical tools, and blood banks.

We know how to prevent these deaths. We have the medical knowledge. We have proven solutions. What we need now is the political will to implement them. Every day we delay costs hundreds of women's lives.

This isn't about developing new drugs or inventing new technologies. It's about ensuring that existing medical knowledge and basic care reach every woman who needs them. The solution to this crisis isn't a mystery – it's a matter of choice and commitment.

The question isn't whether we can save these women's lives. The question is whether we will choose to do so.