UN report finds "systemic" racism against Black women, girls in health systems across Americas

UNITED NATIONS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Women and girls of African descent face a "systemic and historical pattern" of racial abuse in the health sector across the Americas, leaving them at increased risk of death during childbirth, said a report released Wednesday by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Starting in medical education and extending to policymaking and the delivery of health services, women and girls of African descent are systematically neglected and mistreated, the report said, noting that the mistreatment faced by them when receiving healthcare can include verbal and physical abuse, denial of quality care, and refusal of pain relief.

As a consequence, they face increased complications during pregnancy and delayed interventions, which too often result in death, according to the report.

It found that where data is available, the largest discrepancy in maternal death rates is in the United States, where Black women are three times more likely to die than white women.

"The scourge of racism continues for Black women and girls in the Americas, many of whom are descendants of the victims of enslavement," UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem said in a press release.

"Justice and equality will only be possible when our healthcare systems see these women and provide them with respectful, compassionate care," she added.

The UNFPA report called on governments to collect and analyze robust health data broken down by race and ethnicity.

It also urged medical schools to address racist ideology in training curricula and called on hospitals to establish policies to end physical and verbal abuse damaging women and girls of African decent.