Constructing Political Will for Safe Motherhood in Honduras

Jeremy Shiffman, Syracuse University
Cynthia Stanton, Johns Hopkins University
Ana Patricia Salazar, Independent Consultant

In the 1990s Honduras experienced a major decline in maternal mortality. Drawing on social constructionist theory, this paper explains how political priority for safe motherhood emerged in the country. We identify five factors: 1) a legacy of attention in the 1970s and 1980s to maternal health and health infrastructure development 2) the appearance of safe motherhood on the global health agenda in the late 1980s 3) the 1990 publication of a study in Honduras revealing significantly higher levels of maternal death in childbirth than officials previously believed existed 4) the subsequent mobilization of the health bureaucracy for safe motherhood by a group of mid-level civil servants 5) the collaboration of this group with a network of Honduran-based international donors who already prioritized maternal mortality reduction. The paper presents a case study of the political process and draws out lessons concerning political mobilization for other countries facing maternal mortality problems.