UNifeed: H1N1 / MATERNAL HEALTH

H1N1 / MATERNAL HEALTH

UNICEF's Chief of Health, Dr. Mickey Chopra says he hopes the H1N1 pandemic "will be an opportunity to put some spotlight on the need to improve maternal health". Pregnant women are a high-risk group for the swine flu virus, but Chopra says the impact pales against other conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth that already kill more than half a million women per year. UNICEF / FILE

Duration:02:23Date:08 September 2009

Categories:

United Nations Children's Fund, COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SERVICES, DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL

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Full Script

STORY: H1N1 / MATERNAL HEALTH
TRT: 2.23
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 28 AUGUST 2009, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – UNICEF – 6 NOVEMBER 2008, ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA

1. Med shot, pregnant woman with her mother and friend
2. Various shots, pregnant woman and mother walking in the street

FILE – UNICEF – 30-31 AUGUST 2007, KWALE DISTRICT, KENYA

3. Wide shot, mother and newborn
4. Close up, mother looking down at newborn

UNICEF – 28 AUGUST 2009, NEW YORK CITY

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF:
“In relevance to other conditions that kill women in pregnancy such as obstructed labor, or hemorrhage, or infection – other infections such as HIV – this is still a relatively small, minor cause of mortality and death in pregnant women. But nonetheless we are advising countries that where they can, they should give priority to pregnant women for vaccination, but also strengthen communication messages for pregnant women to improve their hygiene practices, and for them to try whenever they can to avoid people with flu-like symptoms as well.”

FILE – UNICEF – MARCH 2009, UZBEKISTAN

6. Wide shot, doctor on rounds in maternity ward
7. Med shot, mother listening to doctor
8. Close up, new born child in mother's arms

28 AUGUST 2009, NEW YORK CITY

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF:
“If the response to this pandemic can help to increase resources to improve the care of pregnant women, for pregnant women to come to ante-natal clinics earlier, and like I said, if we can prioritize the use of any vaccines to be given to pregnant women first, that would be a step forward.”

FILE – UNICEF – SEPTEMBER 2008, CITE SOLEIL, HAITI,
 
10. Wide shot, pregnant woman walking with friend
11. Wide shot, young girl standing in low-lying slum
12. Med shot, boys flying kite in slum

FILE – UNICEF – 1 APRIL 2008, KOLDA, SENEGAL

13. Wide shot, woman walking with bucket in front of huts
14. Close up, boy playing with young girl in doorway of hut

28 AUGUST 2009, NEW YORK CITY

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF:
“The primary message in poor settings, but also across the world should still be on hygiene, on improving care of people who have illness, especially diarrhea and pneumonia. In many settings, we will not be able to introduce the vaccine in time to make a difference, that the logistics of it – it’s too late now already for many settings.”

FILE – UNICEF – RECENT, GUNA DISTRICT, INDIA

16. Close up, baby in mother's arms
17. Med shot, mother and baby

FILE – AUGUIST 2009, GORI, GEORGIA

18. Close up, girls face
19. Close up, girl washing hands

FILE – SEPTEMBER 2008, KLATEN, INDONESIA

20. Med shot, boy exiting lavatory and washing hands
21. Wide shot, boy exiting washroom into courtyard

STORYLINE:

With pregnant women among the high-risk groups for complications from the swine flu virus, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s top health official has said he hopes the H1N1 pandemic “will be an opportunity to put some spotlight on the need to improve maternal health”.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an increased risk from the H1N1 virus during pregnancy “is now consistently well-documented across countries”.

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that while only about one percent of the general population is pregnant, six percent of confirmed fatal 2009 H1N1 flu cases thus far have been in pregnant women.

UNICEF Chief of Health Dr. Mickey Chopra says that worldwide, deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth are a neglected health issue, and H1N1 is only the tip of the iceberg.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF:
“In relevance to other conditions that kill women in pregnancy such as obstructed labor, or hemorrhage, or infection – other infections such as HIV – this is still a relatively small, minor cause of mortality and death in pregnant women. But nonetheless we are advising countries that where they can, they should give priority to pregnant women for vaccination, but also strengthen communication messages for pregnant women to improve their hygiene practices, and for them to try whenever they can to avoid people with flu-like symptoms as well.”

More than half a million women already die each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, almost all in poor countries. The aim of reducing that number has lagged behind the other Millennium Development Goals agreed by all UN member states in 2000.

So Chopra sees the H1N1 pandemic as an opportunity to shine a light on the gaps caused by a lack of investment in maternal health care.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF:
“If the response to this pandemic can help to increase resources to improve the care of pregnant women, for pregnant women to come to ante-natal clinics earlier, and like I said, if we can prioritize the use of any vaccines to be given to pregnant women first, that would be a step forward.”

WHO has recommended that countries consider pregnant women among other groups – people with one of several chronic medical conditions; healthy young adults; healthy children; healthy older adults; and healthy adults over 65 years – for priority vaccination.

But Chopra warns that poor countries especially should not count on the vaccine as their first line of defense against the virus.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF:
“The primary message in poor settings, but also across the world should still be on hygiene, on improving care of people who have illness, especially diarrhea and pneumonia. In many settings, we will not be able to introduce the vaccine in time to make a difference, that the logistics of it – it’s too late now already for many settings.”

Last week WHO reported at least 2,837 deaths from H1N1 in over 170 countries and territories worldwide, with the northern hemisphere bracing for a resurgence of the virus as the cold season approaches.

The agency reiterated the need to promote practices such as frequent hand-washing and covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing to prevent the spread of the virus.

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