GENEVA (AP) — A new study says an African woman is roughly 130 times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth complications than a woman in Europe or North America, the U.N. population fund reported Wednesday as it decried widening inequality in sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide.
UNFPA's latest “ State of World Population ” report also estimates that nearly 500 maternal deaths per day occur in countries with humanitarian crises or conflicts, and shows that women of African descent in the Americas are more likely to die giving birth than white women.
“Sweeping global gains in sexual and reproductive health and rights over the last thirty years are marred by an ugly truth — millions of women and girls have not benefited because of who they are or where they were born,” the fund said in a statement.
UNFPA executive director Dr. Natalia Kanem said the unintended pregnancy rate has declined by nearly one-fifth since 1990 and the maternal death rate has dropped by more than one-third since 2000.
But “inequalities within our societies and health systems are widening, and we have not adequately prioritized reaching those furthest behind,” she said. Improvements in health care access have mostly benefited wealthier women and members of ethnic groups with better access to care, the fund said.
Kanem hailed some progress: More than 160 countries have passed laws against domestic violence, and “legislation against LGBTQIA+ sexuality” that was once widespread has been on the retreat. Now only one-third of countries have such laws.
While she credited “the world's agreement” that led to such gains, Kanem also warned: “Human reproduction is being politicized. The rights of women, girls and gender diverse people are the subject of increasing pushback."
“And yet, today, that progress is slowing. By many measures, it has stalled completely," she said. “Annual reductions in maternal deaths have flatlined. Since 2016, the world made zero progress in saving women from preventable deaths in pregnancy and childbirth.”
“Health systems today are weak," Kanem added. "They’re tainted by gender inequality, by racial discrimination and by misinformation.”
The fund called for new investment in sexual and reproductive health, as well as improvements in sexuality education, stopping gender-based violence, and “ending unmet need for contraception” — an issue that has driven a wedge in some countries.
Under the term of U.S. President Donald Trump, the United States halted funding for UNFPA largely over concerns about abortion — depriving the fund of tens of millions of dollars over four years.
FILE - A woman carries a her baby and a bucket of water in Harare on April 6, 2020. A new study says an African woman is roughly 130 times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth complications than a woman in Europe or North America, the U.N. population fund reported Wednesday, April 17, 2024, as it decried widening inequality in sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money trial resumes Tuesday with testimony from the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker who helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts.
Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
The first week of testimony was the scene-setter for jurors: Manhattan prosecutors portrayed what they say was an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying negative stories.
For his part, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee has been campaigning in his off-hours, but is required to be in court when it is in session, four days a week.
The charges center on $130,000 in payments that Trump’s company made to Cohen. Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of those payments and falsely recorded them as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
Currently:
— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here
— These people were charged with interfering in the 2020 election. Some are still in politics today
— The National Enquirer was the go-to American tabloid for many years. Donald Trump helped change that
— Trump and DeSantis meet to make peace and discuss fundraising for the former president’s campaign
Here's the latest:
Donald Trump entered his motorcade outside Trump Tower in midtown, headed to the courthouse in lower Manhattan for the second week of trial testimony.
The former president on Tuesday will be in court for testimony from the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker who helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts.
Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Judge Juan M. Merchan may decide this week on prosecutors’ request to fine Trump for what they say were violations of a gag order that bars him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case.
The judge also has set a hearing Thursday on another batch of alleged gag order violations.
In an order first made in March and later revised, Merchan barred Trump from making public statements about probable trial witnesses “concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.”
Merchan’s order didn’t give specific examples of what types of statements about witnesses were banned. He noted the order was not intended to prevent the former president from responding to political attacks.
The gag order also barred Trump from making public statements of any type about jurors, court staff, lawyers in the case or relatives of prosecutors or of the judge.
Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial dug Friday into assertions of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.
The first week of testimony was the scene-setter for jurors: Manhattan prosecutors portrayed what they say was an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying negative stories. Now prosecutors are working on filling in the details of how they believe Trump and his allies pulled it off.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker’s testimony last week provided jurors with a stunning inside look at the supermarket tabloid’s “catch-and-kill” practice of purchasing the rights to stories so they never see the light of day.
Trump’s longtime executive assistant, Rhona Graff, told jurors she recalled seeing Stormy Daniels in a reception area of Trump Tower, though the date of the visit wasn’t clear.
Gary Farro, a private client adviser who previously worked at First Republic Bank, testifies on the witness stand in Manhattan criminal court, Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Former President Donald Trump, followed by his attorney Todd Blanche, exits the courtroom during his trial at Manhattan criminal court , Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Curtis Means/DailyMail.com via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
