Amnesty International Australia

Every year, more than 2,000 women die in Burkina Faso from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Amnesty International's report Giving Life, Risking Death finds that many of these deaths could have been easily prevented if women were given access on time to adequate health care.

Many women die because they need blood, others die from obstructed labour, infections or hypertension because they are unable to reach a health facility capable of treating them, or because they arrive too late. Many lose their lives because their relatives cannot pay the fees being asked for by medical personnel. Many more do not even reach health facilities because of poor roads, lack of transport and distance.

Women's status in Burkina Faso

Women are primarily valued as wives and mothers, especially in rural areas.

Unmarried women are seen as ill-fated and of little worth. Married women without children face discrimination and are at risk of being abandoned or rejected by their husbands and in-laws.There are heavy cultural pressures from the community on women to have many children, seen as a sign of wealth, particularly in rural areas.

Although women have equal status under the law,in practice most are subordinate to the men in their lives and are unable to make key decisions, including the timing and spacing of their pregnancies. Women are embedded in a vicious circle with little access to education or to information on sexual and reproductive rights, and are subject to early marriages, female genital mutilation and polygamy as well as being expected to work long hours while pregnant or after childbirth.

Women are well aware of the dangers of pregnancy, as nearly everyone knows a relative or friend who died or suffered complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Several women told Amnesty International that young girls in rural areas used to wish each other "not to have the misfortune of being pregnant".

The Burkina Faso Government

The government has adopted many laws aimed at improving the status of women and has ratified relevant international treaties, however women in Burkina Faso continue to suffer from discrimination in every area of their lives.

In 2006 the government adopted a subsidy policy for childbirth and emergency obstetric care. Under the subsidy strategy, women are entitled to have the costs of delivery subsidised by 80 per cent, indigent women (women living in extreme poverty) should receive free care in childbirth, and transport between different health facilities should be free for all women in labour. However, the reality for many women, particularly in rural areas is quite different. Many are faced with a lack of transport, services and corruption by medical personnel who may demand illegal payment before they intervene. Unaware of their rights, many women and their families are simply unable to afford treatment.

Aïcha's story

Aïcha died in April 2008 in Ouagadougou, aged 21

Aïcha met her husband, Abdou, in Ouagadougou. Abdou, works irregularly as an assistant carpenter, but has been without steady employment for the past year. Aïcha used to sell benga, a mix of beans and rice, and worked until the very last day of her pregnancy. She would wake up at 5am every day to cook the benga which she sold on the road and returned at 4pm to prepare the evening meal.

This was her first pregnancy, and she attended the three recommended prenatal visits at the CSPS (community health centre). There Aïcha was prescribed iron for her anaemia and maloxine to prevent malaria but she could not afford to pay for the prescriptions.

In April 2008, at around 8pm, Aïcha had labour pains. A friend took her to the health centre 1km from her home on a small motorcycle and her husband followed on a bicycle. She gave birth to a boy at 2am after which, the medical personnel asked the family to buy bleach to clean up her blood.

Ten minutes after the delivery, the midwife told the family that Aïcha had to be transferred to a district hospital because she was suffering from a haemorrhage.

Although transfers between health centres should be free under the government’s subsidy policy, the family had to pay for transport. Abdou said: "An ambulance had already been called to transfer her to the hospital. The ambulance driver insisted on receiving 1,500 CFA francs (around US$3.50) before he would start his vehicle."

"When we arrived at the hospital, Aïcha was still bleeding and her clothing was soaked with blood. We were given a prescription... and we had to pay for the gloves and bleach. I went to buy them... when we came back, a health worker gave us a new prescription and I bought medicine for a total of 4,500 CFA francs (around US$10). Ten minutes later, a third prescription was given to us... for 3,500 CFA francs (around US$8)."

Abdou was then told to get his wife’s blood tested: "I was sent to a nearby health centre, it was almost 3am and I had no transport, so I went on foot. It took me an hour to get there and I spent 2,000 CFA francs (around US$4.50) on the test. I quickly went by taxi to the district hospital... which charged 1,000 CFA francs (around US$2)... when taxis see that people are in a hurry, they charge higher prices.

It was past 5am when I arrived at the hospital and delivered the blood test results. When I arrived, I didn’t find my mother and friends. I was told that they had already left. I thought that Aïcha had felt better and was cured. Then a doctor came... I learnt that she died at 5:18am."

Download the full report Giving LIfe, Risking Death - Maternal Mortality in Burkina Faso (pdf 2.34MB).