LONDON: Cuts to aid budgets are threatening to undermine years of progress in reducing the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth, and could lead to a rise in deaths, the United Nations has warned.
Globally, there was a 40 percent decline in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023, a report by UN agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) showed on Monday, largely due to better access to essential health services.
That could now go into reverse, the WHO said in a statement accompanying the report which did not mention specific cuts but came in the wake of a foreign aid freeze by the US government and the ending of funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for many programs.
Other donor countries including Britain have also announced plans to cut aid budgets.
“One of the headline messages is that the funding cuts risk not only that progress, but we could have a shift backward,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage at the WHO.
The cuts have had “pandemic-like effects” on health systems globally and could have a “more structural, deep-seated effect,” Aylward added.
The WHO said the cuts were already rolling back vital services for maternal, newborn and child health in many countries, reducing staff numbers, closing facilities and disrupting supply chains for supplies including treatments for hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia.
Cuts to other areas, such as malaria and HIV treatment, would also impact maternal survival, the UN said.
Even before the aid cuts led by the United States, things were backsliding in some countries, and progress has slowed globally since 2016, the report said.
In 2023, despite recent progress, a woman still died roughly every two minutes — around 260,000 in total that year — from complications that were mainly preventable and treatable, it added.
The situation was particularly bad in countries affected by conflict or natural disaster, although the US itself is one of only four countries to have seen its maternal mortality rate increase significantly since 2000, alongside Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
The COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact, the report said: 40,000 more women died due to pregnancy or childbirth in 2021, bringing the total number of deaths that year to 322,000.
“While this report shows glimmers of hope, the data also highlights how dangerous pregnancy still is in much of the world today – despite the fact that solutions exist,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The report itself was part-funded by USAID.

LONDON: Eid Al-Fitr celebrations began in London this weekend and featured numerous events, the most notable happening at Westfield London, Europe’s largest shopping mall.

Although Eid was celebrated at the end of March in most Muslim countries to signify the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, some planning is required in Europe and the UK to mark the occasion at weekends.

Eid fell this time on the first weekend of beautiful spring days, warm and sunny, although there was a chilly breeze in the shade. It coincided with the Easter school holiday, the clocks have already moved forward, and the cherry blossoms are blooming.

The London Eid Festival at Westfield London has been celebrated for six successive years, and next weekend, from April 11 to 13, it takes place for a second year at Westfield Stratford City in East London.

Westfield London is an enormous upmarket shopping destination featuring more than 460 stores. For those accustomed to shopping at local delis and occasionally making trips to Sainsbury’s, the interactive touch-screen map at Westfield is essential for navigating the seven levels of the mall.

The London Eid Festival features independent vendors selling jewelry, fragrances, books, clothes, and sweets near the front of the mall. Just outside Wood Lane Station, two rows of food stalls featuring halal cuisine from China to Mexico are ready for celebrators to enjoy meals under the sun. Families with children in prams, teenagers on Easter break, and those curious about Eid sit on colorful yellow and blue benches to listen to singing performances and watch children’s ballet in the yard.

Westfield is a mainstream location for all communities, and this gives us an opportunity to showcase the Muslim community to the rest of the world

Waleed Jahangir, Algebra Consulting

Organizers are expecting more than 300,000 visitors at both weekends of the Eid celebrations at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City.

Waleed Jahangir, the managing director at Algebra Consulting, told Arab News that the celebration taking place in one of the world’s leading public venues is what makes the London Eid Festival unique.

“Westfield is a mainstream location for all communities and this gives us an opportunity to showcase the Muslim community to the rest of the world,” Jahangir said.

“When you hire a venue, the doors are closed with a majority of Muslims there; but here I want to showcase the power, the impact, and the festivities to the mainstream audience and in front of all the major brands … which benefit from the footfall and the sales.”

Most vendors at the London Eid Festival are independent businesses with a once-a-year opportunity to sell and showcase their products alongside Westfield’s major chains and big brands such as Apple, Nike, H&M, and Zara.

However, some of their products are pretty niche, such as Ghanaian African black soap made from cocoa pods. It appeared too adventurous for someone who grew up in Jerusalem using olive oil soap before discovering Mitchell’s wool fat soap on a drizzly day at Chatsworth House.

But the most popular item to buy at the festival was Dubai chocolate, according to the young food enthusiasts

Lubna, the vendor, acknowledges that Ghanaian black soap is not their best seller but the pain relief oil, which has been sold for the past nine years, is popular among customers for treating arthritis and joint pain.

Hanzalla, one of nearly 100 vendors at the London Eid Festival, sees the event as an excellent opportunity to showcase his halal food supplements, which are produced and packaged without alcohol or pig products.

Some vendors do not have physical stores but operate online, such as Learning Roots, a publisher that offers children’s books about the prophets and illustrated translations of the Qur’an.

Thobes for women, Palestine T-shirts, and oud essential oil are available for Eid celebrators.

However, I saved my cash for a halal Chinese meal of chicken, green beans, and noodles with chilli flakes. According to Ali and Mohammed, who are from Indonesia, this is the most popular meal.

There were three Korean food stalls, one of them selling German halal sausages. I asked Wahy, as he was preparing to open for customers at noon, about the popularity of Korean cuisine in the market, but he could not find a convincing reason other than “English people like it.”

But the most popular item to buy at the festival was Dubai chocolate, according to the young food enthusiasts who spoke to Arab News. Shayaan was visiting with his father Taleb and explained that it became famous after going viral on TikTok. It is his favorite thing.

Dubai chocolate is made with shredded phyllo dough and pistachio cream, the vendor explained as she served customers. She noticed it had become a bestseller over the last year or so.

Shayaan was clearly enjoying his Eid and the Dubai chocolate. Those who grew up in the 1990s in the Middle East remember how we eagerly waited for Eid to spend our money on Kinder Surprise to get our hands on the tiny toys; nowadays it is Dubai chocolate, and for good reason.