(2017) 1 African Human Rights Yearbook 95 discrimination against women and girls and maternal deaths and injuries and stressed the importance of ensuring women’s human rights, including sexual and reproductive rights.64 The study, in delineating an overview of the United Nations system’s efforts to reduce preventable maternal deaths and injuries, determined that a significant initiatives were in existence and ranged from development of norms and policies to service provision and accountability measures.65 However, it further determined that these efforts sometimes lacked coherence and frequently needed greater action to ensure expected results,66 and offered recommendations on what the Human Rights Council could do to strengthen these existing efforts.67 For instance, the study urged governments to scale up technical interventions which are affordable, acceptable and culturally sensitive.68 It noted that reducing maternal deaths would include much more than guaranteeing access to health care services and would entail addressing the underlying socio-cultural, political and economic determinants of health such as ensuring access to information on sexual and reproductive health, education, and promoting gender equality.69 The OHCHR study further provided an analysis of what a human rightsbased approach to reducing maternal mortality requires including the application of seven human rights principles.70 These principles which are accountability,71 non-discrimination, participation72 and transparency,73 empowerment,74 sustainability,75 as well as international assistance and cooperation,76 must be integrated in all policies and programmes. The effective application of these core principles to all of the efforts undertaken at a regional or country level in the African region would take the continent closer to its objective of effectively reducing preventable maternal mortality and morbidity. For instance, entrenching accountability in ongoing maternal mortality initiatives or campaigns in Africa such as CARMMA and ‘Africa cares: no woman should die while giving life’ must require all governments to not only ensure adequate redress is given to victims of preventable maternal 64 Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights; http:// www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.39_AEV-2.pdf (accessed 14 July 2017). 65 As above, 22. 66 As above. 67 As above. 68 As above, 16-17. 69 As above. 70 As above, 18. 71 As above, 18-20. 72 As above, 20. 73 As above, 20-21. 74 As above, 21. 75 As above. 76 As above, 22.