Cape Town, South Africa – More than two million infants and women die worldwide each year from childbirth complications, outnumbering child deaths from malaria and HIV/AIDS, according to a new study released at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) world congress.
Updates » News
Thousands of Indian Women Dying in Childbirth
October 7th, 2009
Lucknow, India - Tens of thousands of Indian women and girls are dying during pregnancy and childbirth, despite government programs guaranteeing free obstetric health care, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a newly released report.
A Leap Forward on Free Healthcare
September 29th, 2009
UN – At a high-level gathering on the margins of the General Assembly, world leaders pledged more than US $5 billion in multi-year funding and committed to a new global Consensus for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
Gordon Brown Leads the Push for Free Healthcare
September 11th, 2009
UK – Prime Minister Gordon Brown is preparing to lead a push at the UN to scrap health charges in countries from Nepal to Sierra Leone. As ministers admit that international goals to tackle maternal and child mortality are "significantly off track," Brown believes that pregnant women, young mothers, and teenagers in the developing world should be given access to free healthcare.
Global NGO Conference Demands Action on Cairo Commitments
September 4th, 2009
BERLIN - More than 400 delegates, representing 131 countries, gathered this week for the Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Development. These participants created a Call to Action document that demanded "concrete, practical and fully funded actions" by governments to fulfill their 15 years of promises about investing in equality, human rights and social and economic development, especially for women and girls.