The story of global health in the last decades is the story of staggering inequality.
In poor countries, 4 out of 1,000 women will die in childbirth. In Sierra Leone, 1 in 17 women will die while giving birth. That’s 97 times more likely than women in the United States. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 13 children will die before their 15th birthday; 16 times more than children in countries like the U.S. We know how to solve these problems, but have not yet gotten those solutions to the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.
The problems are about more than wealth, access, and infrastructure. Gender inequality plays a huge role. 21% of girls will get married before they are 18, and 40% of girls in poor countries. 1 in 3 women around the world experiences gender-based violence. Conflict and crisis contribute to the problem, with women and children making up 76% of people who are forced to leave their homes because of crisis.