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On September 20, White Ribbon Alliance Global Patron Sarah Brown, Mothers Day Every Day Advisor Arianna Huffington and Donna Karan will host the first annual Women: Inspiration & Enterprise (WIE) Symposium for some of the most powerful women in politics, philanthropy, media, fashion and the arts. The WIE Symposium is an opportunity to highlight the ways in which people from all walks of life can contribute to the global effort to put an end to needless deaths from pregnancy and childbirth. In order to ensure that the symposium includes the next generation of powerful women, the WRA has hosted two competitions to support the participation of young champions for women from our National Alliances and from the United States. 50 Young Champions for Women and 7 National Alliance Young Women Advocates were selected to attend the event.

From August 30 to September 1, more than 600 maternal health experts will gather in Delhi, India, for the Global Maternal Health Conference 2010, the first international technical conference devoted exclusively to maternal health. Hosted by the Maternal Health Task Force at EngenderHealth and the Public Health Foundation of India, the conference aims to increase consensus and coordination around the evidence, programs, and advocacy needed to advance maternal health. According to latest estimates, more than 342,000 women worldwide die due to preventable pregnancy or childbirth complications every year.

A new study released by the Population Council, New Delhi shows that young, unmarried women in India encounter barriers to obtaining an abortion procedure early in their pregnancies.  The study took place in Jharkand and Bihar, surveying 549 unmarried women who had an abortion between 2007 and 2008.   Delayed recognition of pregnancy, lack of awareness that abortion is legal for unmarried women, and lack of support from partners were cited as factors that contributed to women accessing abortions later in their pregnancies. 

The researchers believe these findings emphasize the need for increased sex education programs for unmarried young women in a variety of forums.  Improved programs should work to bolster communication about sexual health between young women and their family members, especially their parents.  These programs should not only include information about reproductive physiology, but also information on access and legal rights to abortion. 

The Live & Living MDG 5 Shadow Report is an interactive, web-based report on the progress of the Millennium Development Goals 3 & 5 in twelve countries in Asia. The countries covered include the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan; the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines; the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the East Asian country of China.