Women and children have always been the most vulnerable members of the societies. Worldwide, at least 15% of pregnant women encounter life-threatening complications. In conflict, disaster or crisis, pregnant women are more vulnerable because health services have collapsed, are inadequate or non-existent. These women need access to quality emergency obstetric care whether in conflict zone, refugee camps or tent-shelters following earthquakes. They need the same help that all pregnant women facing complications need: access to appropriate medical care – skilled medical workers, medications and equipment necessary to take prompt life-saving actions.

The burden of disease in disaster sees acute upward rise of trauma cases requiring emergency life or limb-saving surgeries in the first 14-30 days subsequently followed by escalating numbers of chronic medical disorders, mental health issues e.g. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and occurrence of outbreaks of communicable diseases e.g. cholera, measles. Interestingly, obstetrics cases requiring medical care e.g. physiological deliveries, caesarean sections have a constant occurrence throughout all phases of disaster.

Therefore, obstetricians, gynaecologists and midwives all play a pivotal role in bridging the service gap affected by crisis thus ensuring minimum standards of maternal and women’s health care are met.

Conflicts, epidemics, natural disasters or complete breakdown of country’s health system are crises faced by millions of patients around the world every day, but a maternal death: that’s an avoidable crisis.