and other perpetrators of serious abuse [ expropriation,collective action has the power to significantly reduce the available to armed groups inso called ‘ethical ’ and refusing to purchase goods whose production may have involved illegal that can potentially be wielded by to effect change through alterations in their purchasingabout the circumstanceshabits. By surrounding engaging the production of their consumer goods. It also highlights the collective influence diamonds [ civilconflict which destroyed much the of country’s health infrastructure thoughtis haveto come from illegally traded competitionlatedto control forcountry’sthe of reserves.oilSierra Leone,Inrevenue thefundthe toused which was armedgroups [ high–income nations, such as the UK. In a number of regions, this has inadvertently providedresourcesnatural theillegally expropriatedfinancial eventuallysub–Saharanmajority of consumed in are conflict areas The in capital to various ment in which interventions to address maternal mortality, or indeed any other health issue, can be implemented. underlying issues relating to the protracted cycles of conflict is therefore an essential precursor to developing an environ haranAfricancountries experiencedhavethat recentconflict those which conflictare in than [ free a catalyst for ongoing conflict [ the illegal expropriation and sale of the region’s vast natural resources, as both power[ an underlying cause of conflict and also as against pregnant women [ is also increasing evidence of violence being directed specifically regional and civil armed conflicts. During times of conflict, there protractedinfrastructurebyhealth of decimation the been has ic Republic of Congo (DRC) a significant impediment to progress Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Chad, Somalia and the Democrat countriesworld.Intheashighestsuch amongtheinrank that experienceprogresscontinuemortalitytonoratesand or little shown havecountries of number A region.the across tributed www.jogh.org this involves boycotting products considered to be unethical and favoring the purchaseEthical consumerismof involvesproducts the alterationwhich of purchasingminimise patternsharm to promote a certain set of moral values. Commonly, ETHICAL CONSUMERISM B 2 1 Dileep Wijeratne sub–Saharan Africa: Reducing maternal mortality in ethical consumerism Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK Sanyu Research Unit, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK [ sub–SaharanAfricawhole aas fell roughlyby percent45 for ratio mortality maternal the 2015, and 1990 etween 1 3 • doi:10.7189/jogh.07.010309 ]. Unfortunately, this decline has not been uniformly dis ]. In–depth]. analysesUnited thebyNations othersandhave identified competition among various groups for 3 ]. This state of affairs raises significant moral and ethical concerns for consumers in high–income countries 4 ].Forexample, chronic low–level warfare andsocietal instability inChad isthought tobestrongly re 1 , Andrew David Weeks 2 ]. The 1990s saw the emergence of warfare in Africa as a means of accumulating wealth and 4 ]. It has been estimated that Maternal Mortality rates are at least 30% higher in sub–Sa 4 ]. 2 1 - -

the role of poverty reduction. as human rights, conflict resolution and such principles development broader to given is attention that important is globalductionmaternalof mortality, it In order to accelerate progress in the re June 2017 •Vol. 7 No. 1• 010309 5 ]. Addressing]. the - - - -

VIEWPOINTS VIEWPOINTS June 2017 •Vol. 7 No. 1• 010309 more than the combined GDP of Europe and the United States [ sources.The mineral resources in the DRC have been estimated to have avalue of 15 Trillion pounds – [ be used in manufacturing processes via multiple intermediary companies, several of which Panelare at UK–basedthe request of the UN Secretary General identified that these minerals are distributed globally to the manufacture of consumer electronics such as mobile phones. Investigations undertaken by an suchExpertasCasserite (tin ore), Wolframite (tungsten ore) andColtan (tantalum ore) which are essential for undercontrolthevarious ofmilitia groups. mainobjectsTheexpropriationof weremineralsgoldand between 1998 and 2003, an estimated 98% of the mining industry in DRC was driven by enforced labor was upwards of 1100 per 100 [ ity ranks nations based on a composite statistic of expectancy, education and indices of income inequal in2013 the DRC was placed 186th out of 187 countries in the UN Human Development Index, which ed an incidence of 48 rapes occurring every hour in the eastern DRC [ lence anywhere in the world with rape frequently being employed as a weapon of war. One study report icalconsiderations enshrinedis within international trade law[ The principle of consumers and indeed nations having the right to base their purchasing patterns on eth ings in the development of health care infrastructure [ specific programs which have allowed women to earn livinga wage and to reinvest some of their earn beneficialtions,beshown hasthemto collateral the both via effects poverty of reduction throughand Goal (MDG) targets. In terms of maternal health, quantitative impact data relating to Fair Tradestimulate economic interven development and accelerate progress toward a number of Millennium Development ing countries. This approach has been successful in utilizing market forces to improve tradingwhose standards,sale results in a larger proportion of the purchasing price being allocated to producers in Tradedevelop Foundation” presentedhave consumers clothingalternativeandfoodanproductswith rangeof environment.“Fairtheexample,thehumans, animalsethicalorconsumerFor movements asto such livessince 1998 [ The civil conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is estimated to have claimed upwards of 4 million REPUBLIC OF CONGO MATERNAL MORTALITY AND CONFLICT MINERALS IN THE DEMOCRATIC contain Cassiserite, Wolframite and Coltan must submit to the Federal Securities ousand lobbyExchange groups, SectionCommis 1502 of the act stipulates that companies operating in the US whose products “Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Act”. theAs of formtransparency theatrade inlandmark reformon result a passed senateStatesUnited the 2011, In of campaigning from numer been described as “the world’s deadliest humanitarian crisis” [ laptopsand various other electronics, inadvertently helped to fund and perpetuate aconflict which has as a potent stimulant for behavior change among exploitative producers and intermediaryonstrates companies that [ the loss of revenue that results from ethically motivated collective consumer action, can act in point. priationnaturalof resources sub–Saharanin Africa, mostnotably theDRCprovides illustrativean case actions of all participants within a trade chain is therefore difficult, but not impossible. The illegalotherthebyparticipants exprotradetheinchain. Providing complete consumersfor aboutthe ticipantcanbehave inways that maybeconsidered unethical, notonly bytheend–consumer, butalso tion of many products frequently involve tangled chains of multiple, international, participants.and convoluted Any naturepar of international trade relationships. The manufacturing, processing and distribu The ability of consumers to make informed ethical choices is however confounded by the highly complex 4 ]. Eventually,]. consumersthroughpurchaseofwhohandsphones, thethe of in mineralsup theend rights, conflict resolution and poverty reduction. human as such principles development broader to given is attention that portant In order to accelerate progress in the reduction of global maternal mortality, it is im 12 ]. At the heighttheciviltheAtconflict,of]. estimates suggested maternalthe mortality ratioDRCthe in

10 ] and]has been fuelled largetoa extent bycompetition forthe country’s natural re

000 [ 1 ]. The eastern DRC also suffers from the highest rates of sexual vio 2 6 ]. 8 ]. 11 7 , 8 ]. In spite of this vast potential wealth, ]. A growingA]. bodyevidenceof dem 13 www.jogh.org ]. At the height of the civil war • doi:10.7189/jogh.07.010309 - 9 ]. ------www.jogh.org [CC BY–SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by–sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia . Photo: Child labor: artisan mining in Kailo, DR Congo. By Julien Harneis (Flickr: Mining in Kailo) • doi:10.7189/jogh.07.010309 civil conflict. theless,thedata are highly suggestive markedaof reduction maternalin mortality since theendtheof challenges of accurately measuring mortality in regions without formal civil registration systems. Never ofthe highest maternal mortality ratios in the world and is subject to a degree of uncertainty due to the attendance, emergency obstetric care and improving access to contraception [ development. With regards to maternal health, there is a renewed focus on the provision of skilled birth conflict, increasing amounts resources are being diverted toward health care and other areas societalof plychains [ Dodd–FrankAct and the ensuing efforts of electronics manufacturers to examine and reform their sup mortalityratio inDRC was estimated tobe around 693 per 100 suchashuman rights and poverty reduction [ icantdrawback wastheinsufficientMDG5of attention that paid broaderit to development principles involve consumers from all over the globe. The World Health Organization has highlighted that a signif contribute to so many maternal deaths in sub–Saharan Africa extend across countries and continents to biological, cultural, political and socio–economic causal factors. Sadly, vital branchesmaternaldeath,matteroccurs,complexAworldembedded nowheretheitwillbeanetwork in in of of the networks that CONCLUSION ganisations are an ideal starting point for anyone wishing to engage with ethical consumerism. phone deal directly with issues relating to conflict minerals in the DRC. The websites of any of these or “ Foundation”. Other groups such as Raise Hope for Congo, The Enough Campaign and Fair ganisations include “The Organisation”, “The Ethical Company Organisation” and the formation in the form of “ethical shopping guides” to help consumers make informed choices. These or numberA organisationsof collate dataabout company andcountry trade practices andpresent thein the entire global burden [ frastructurecontinuecandevelop to savemothersand [ creatingan environment of sustainable, basic security in sub–Saharan Africa where improved health in endorsed by the UN as a powerful means by which the international community can contribute toward This approach, employed in conjunction with sanctions and international legaldividuals prosecutionsand advocacy groups hasconcerned alsowith maternalbeen mortality can actively engage with these issues. SaharanAfrica still hasmore than160 comesall the more apparent if we consider that in spite of the progress of the last quarter century, sub– 9 ].As aresult of the marked reduction in the availability of financial capital to fuel ongoing 1 ].

000maternal deaths everyyear, whichnow ismore thanhalf of 3 15 ].Ethical consumerism provides meansa bywhich in

4 ]. The need for our collectiveourneedforThe]. actionbe

000[ the changes being attributed to the the to attributed being changes the as a triumph of consumer with militia groups. This of transition has been control lauded the under longer no were Congo in mines mineral the Project”Enoughof reportedmost that the anti–genocide campaign group “The choices about their purchases. In 2014, information required to make informed fords also provides consumers with the level.transparencyThe af actthethat highest the at change legislative effect tive and lobbying, to collec of power the of demonstration and other atrocities. The legislation is a massacres in involved been have that obtainedgroupsfromarmedbeennot they have taken to ensure that they have that measures the detail must regions they do source their minerals from these reportthatcountries. Companieswho surrounding or DRC the in sourced sion,whether their minerals have been 1 ].This figure still represents one June 2017 •Vol. 7 No. 1• 010309 14 ]. In 2015, the maternal ------

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