Social determinants of health are defined by the World Health Organization, (WHO), as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.” These conditions vary from place to place as differentiations occur among different cultures, religious beliefs, and political stances. Because of the variations among these places, using multiple social determinants of health can be used to effectively examine causes of certain illnesses and health problems that a country has and can be used to create awareness so that the epidemic can be solved. In my country of Ethiopia, an ongoing issue is increasing numbers of women suffering from maternal death. There are several social determinants that can be used to examine this issue, but the determinant that seems to impact this issue the most would have to be the amount of access Ethiopian women have to proper health care services.

            Access to proper health care services is important, especially for women who are pregnant and women who are in labor. In many places, pregnancy is an extremely medicalized time period for the mother, and many places agree with the amount of patient and doctor appointments and check-ups, while many places do not. As culture is tied in, many cultures and ethnic groups have traditions that they follow while a woman is pregnant or in labor, and most of the time, being in a hospital is not a part of this traditions. In Ethiopia, cultural practices can restrict women from seeking health care (Abdella 2010). 

            Many women also don’t have access to proper health care because they are unable to travel to these health centers. Delay in accessing care during obstetric emergencies, which is partially accounted for by a lack of transport – was documented as a contributing factor to maternal deaths in Ethiopia (Mekonnen, Hailemariam, Gebremariam, 2016). This is especially hard because many of the health centers that are in Ethiopia are located in urban areas, and this makes it much harder because about 80% of Ethiopia’s population resides in rural areas. As people are realizing the links between travelling hardships and maternal death, there should be awareness that can cause more health centers to be produced so that the majority of the population has a better chance at being able to reach these health care professionals to be examined during emergencies and regular check-ups.

            Poverty also plays a huge role in the access that these women have to health care centers. As we all know, healthcare is very expensive. With that being said, poverty is prevalent in Ethiopians as Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. There are health centers available in Ethiopia, but because of where these centers are located, it seems that the population with a better socioeconomic status have better opportunities in terms of receiving health care. The people who receive these resources is socially determined and these policies and regulations had been introduced without keeping the poorer population in mind. (Marmot, 2005).  It seems as if people do not mind impoverished people dying off when they never had a chance to begin with.  

• Abdella, A. (2010). Maternal Mortality Trend in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development. 24(1), 116-122.
• Marmot, M. (2005). Social Determinants of Health Inequalities. International Centre for Health and Society. 365: 1099.
• Mekonnen, W., Hailemariam, D., Gebremariam, A. (2016). Causes of maternal death in Ethiopia between 1990 and 2016: systematic review with meta-analysis. Ethiopian Journal of health development, 32(4), 225.
• About Social Determinants of Health. https://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/