Giving Compass' Take:

• This video from Devex explores successful measures taken in Jayapura to improve maternal health with the goal of meeting the health criteria set out in the SDGs.

• How can these methods transfer over to other developing nations? What steps must be taken to understand the unique cultural demands of varying contexts? 

• Maternal health is also a problem in the United States. Learn about maternal mortality rates in the U.S.

Indonesia has some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in Southeast Asia, and one of the biggest factors affecting the rate of maternal deaths is a lack of access. Local midwives in remote corners of the country are on the frontlines of primary care, but many women in poor and rural settings don’t have access to such care — and even when services are accessible, the quality varies.

Now, Sustainable Development Goal 3 on healthy lives and well-being is aiming to reduce the number of women dying due to complications in childbirth to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

Papua, at the easternmost edge of Indonesia, is among the least developed provinces in the country, and its lack of healthcare infrastructure is concerning. A report from Human Rights Watch notes that Papua has Indonesia’s highest infant, child, and maternal mortality rates. But in Jayapura, the province’s capital, steps are being taken to counter this problem in primary health centers at the heart of the communities.

Read the full article about improving maternal health by Helen Morgan and Naomi Mihara at Devex International Development.