Determinants of Maternal Mortality Rate in The Kyrgyz Republic Regions

Abstract

Population is an important factor in development of a country. As a constraint, not only the size of the population is important but also its quality in the development process. Women’s health is considered all over the world and the data about this aspect is published by the World Health Organization annually. Among others maternal mortality rate is one of the major problems affecting women’s health and population. Everyday 830 women die due to the problems related to pregnancy and childbirth in the world. While this number is relatively lower in the developed countries, it is higher in the underdeveloped and developing countries. In addition, the maternal mortality rate in the Caucasus and Central Asia ranks in the worst third in the world. In the Kyrgyz Republic, this rate is 82.083333 per 10000 live births which is the worst in the region. Therefore, it is among one of the countries where the maternal mortality should be reduced in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals. In this study, the determinants of maternal mortality rate are analyzed in the Kyrgyz Republic regions during 2000-2015 by using static panel data methods fixed effects and random effects. The findings show that there are significant decreasing effects of GDP, number of assistant physicians, births by skilled staff, improved sanitation facilities, and gender wage equality, there are significant increasing effects of health expenditures, medical facilities, and poverty among women on the maternal mortality.