Department of Anthropology and Department of Community Medicine, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
Infect Dis Poverty. 2013 Nov 15;2(1):26. doi: 10.1186/2049-9957-2-26.
Notable among gaps in the achievement of the global health Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are shortcomings in addressing maternal health, an issue addressed in the fifth MDG. This shortfall is particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where over half of all maternal deaths occur each year. While there is not as yet a comprehensive understanding of the biological and social causes of maternal death in SSA, it is evident that poverty, gendered economic marginalization, social disruptions, hindered access to care, unevenness in the quality of care, illegal and clandestine abortions, and infections are all critical factors. Beyond these factors, this paper presents a review of the existing literature on maternal health in SSA to argue that syndemics constitute a significant additional source of maternal morbidity and mortality in the region. Increasing focus on the nature, prevention, and treatment of syndemics, as a result, should be part and parcel of improving maternal health in SSA.
在全球卫生千年发展目标（MDG）的实现方面存在明显差距，其中包括解决孕产妇健康问题的不足，这是第五个 MDG 所涉及的问题。在撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA），这一差距尤其严重，每年有超过一半的孕产妇死亡发生在该地区。虽然目前还没有对 SSA 孕产妇死亡的生物和社会原因有全面的了解，但很明显，贫困、性别经济边缘化、社会动荡、获得护理的机会受限、护理质量不均、非法和秘密堕胎以及感染都是关键因素。除了这些因素，本文还对 SSA 孕产妇健康的现有文献进行了回顾，认为综合征是该地区孕产妇发病率和死亡率的一个重要额外来源。因此，越来越多地关注综合征的性质、预防和治疗应该成为改善 SSA 孕产妇健康的重要组成部分。
