Experts estimate that post partum haemorrhage accounts for about one quarter of the estimated 535,000 women who die each year after childbirth -- that's 133,750 women. New evidence from the DFID funded Future Health Systems Research Programme Consortium was recently published in The International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. According to Dr. David M. Bishai, a researcher from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath, a maternal death can be prevented for just $1400 with misoprostol. This means that misoprostol could be one of the most cost-effective interventions in public health today.
The “Monte Carlo” simulation that the researchers used estimated that when mothers were given misoprostol by trained village workers immediately after delivery, there was a 38 percent reduction in maternal deaths attributable to post partum hemorrhage.
“Because misoprostol is not yet on the formulary in some countries, these results could help persuade some decision-makers to give it some consideration. There are few interventions other than Vitamin A and vaccines that can save as many lives for as little money as misoprostol.” Bishai said.
What do you think? It seems that decision-makers are always most receptive to cost-effective solutions.
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