Assam’s World-Famous Tea Gardens Are Deadly For Pregnant Women

The Brahmaputra’s annual flooding in Assam is widely reported every year. What gets lesser attention is how the floods affect healthcare provision, and contribute to Assam having India’s highest maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 237 for every 100,000 live births-- nearly twice the national rate of 130-- despite the state having halved its MMR over a decade to 2016. Our investigation supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation finds the state’s construction of 15,000 roads to have played a significant role by enabling women to access health centres, contraceptives and tetanus injections. Here’s our report from Assam’s famous tea gardens, hotspots for maternal mortality, on the gains made, and why the benefits have not reached everyone.