Maternal morbidity as a philanthropic cause area

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

In 2022 OpenPhilanthropy launched Cause Exploration Prizes, inviting people to submit ideas for new ways to allocate their funding.

Maternal morbidity, defined by the WHO as “any health condition attributed to and/or aggravated by pregnancy and childbirth that has a negative impact on the woman’s wellbeing”, is a leading cause of DALYs worldwide, and although progress has been made on the contribution of mortality to this total, the same progress has not been seen on morbidity. That is, years of life lost are decreasing, but years lived with disabilities are plateauing or increasing.

I was pleased to receive an honorable mention and small cash prize for my submission on this topic. My full essay is available here: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/pxrN28gfn26Z7dzch/new-cause-area-maternal-morbidity