Jacinda Ardern urges global action on Gaza and maternal deaths in war zones

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (inset) says "the genocide in Gaza" must end, in an opinion piece focusing on maternal childbirth deaths for the UK's The Guardian today. Composite photo / Paul Rickard / Hassan Jedi, Anadolu via Getty Images

Jacinda Ardern has called for “the genocide in Gaza” to end in an opinion piece published in UK newspaper the Guardian.

Leaders will gather for the UN General Assembly in the coming weeks, so pressure must continue to be put on those “with power to respond to these humanitarian crises” that ranged from the conflict in Ukraine to natural disasters caused by the climate crisis, the former Prime Minister wrote on Instagram in a post about her Guardian piece.

“We should start with Gaza”, Ardern wrote.

“There is a path to stopping the genocide still happening daily before us: more countries must recognise Palestinian statehood; any co-operation that facilitates military action must end; humanitarian aid needs to urgently reach the trapped and starving; and medical care must be available for the injured, the malnourished, and for the expectant and new mothers.

“Simply put, the genocide must end.”

Ardern’s piece was published as the US for a sixth time vetoed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council yesterday that would’ve demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of the hostages, saying the text didn’t go far enough in condemning Hamas or recognising Israel’s right to defend itself, the BBC reported.

Israeli soldiers move with an army vehicle near Israeli tanks near the border with the Gaza Strip on September 17. Photo / Amir Levy / Getty Images

The UN’s humanitarian office yesterday warned the last lifelines for civilians were collapsing in Gaza City as Israel expanded its military offensive, which began after 1200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel almost two years ago.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, and 435 are known to have died due to malnutrition and starvation, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Ardern, mother to 7-year-old Neve, wrote about the situation in Gaza in a piece for the Guardian focusing on maternal deaths in childbirth and as a result of genocide.

She wrote of times she messaged a friend after Neve – a baby at the time – hadn’t slept, wondering whether she could get through her day as Prime Minister “without making some glaring mistake”.

“I was the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Only the second woman in the world to have a baby while leading a country, and some days were hard,” she wrote.

“Yet there was one response, a simple text message from my friend, also deep in the trenches of caregiving, that would stop me in my tracks: ‘Women give birth during war’.”

Clarke Gayford and Jacinda Ardern with newborn daughter Neve in 2018. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The message was a reminder that every day women “defy the odds – surviving horrifically difficult things, all while being mothers and caregivers”.

She found herself thinking “endlessly of the women giving birth through the perils of war”, Ardern wrote.

The world was plagued by humanitarian crises, and despite the dehumanisation of these crises, life continued – including new life.

“Women still give birth – and many of them don’t survive.”

The most common cause of maternal childbirth deaths was the “largely preventable” complication of postpartum haemorrhaging (PPH), which affects 14 million women a year on average, according to the World Health Organisation.

Although PPH had nearly been eliminated in high-income countries, almost 70,000 women were still dying from it each year – more than half of them in the 25 countries with current appeals for humanitarian aid, Ardern wrote.

A global partnership named Safer Births in Crises was being launched by the International Rescue Committee to bring together experts who could provide simple and low-cost solutions for preventing and treating PPH among the world’s most vulnerable women.

The Matariki Fund for Women has provided $4 million to the project.

Jacinda Ardern has taken up several international roles since resigning as Prime Minister in 2023. She's pictured speaking at Harvard University while Prime Minister, and where she later took up a teaching role. Photo / Jon Chase / Harvard Staff

But no one should pretend efforts so far were enough, she wrote.

“We may live in a world plagued by humanitarian crises, but we must resist the dehumanisation of numbers.

“Because yes, women give birth during war, and they die. But they shouldn’t. Not in the midst of birth, nor in the crossfire of conflict. Sometimes politics and leadership should be as simple as that.”