To the African Heads of State,
(Télécharger la version française)
It is a simple truth: The Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved in Africa without addressing sexual and reproductive health. In 2006, recognizing that women and girls deliver enormous social and economic benefits to their families, communities, and nations, the African Union boldly adopted a short-term plan to achieve the MDGs and save women’s lives in their continent: The Maputo Plan of Action. You understood the needs and realities of your countries, you came together, and you adopted a plan that moved sexual and reproductive health higher on Africa’s political agenda. We commend you for taking the lead in addressing sexual and reproductive health, including maternal health and family planning.
Now, the Maputo Plan of Action is about to expire, and we’re calling on you to reenergize your efforts to achieve the goals that you set in 2006. It’s time to build on the legacy of the Maputo Plan, and to move forward with renewed determination to save the lives of millions of women and girls.
At the Summit of the African Union next week, it is time to revisit the Maputo Plan of Action, to recognize the progress that has been made, and to get all African countries onboard the implementation of the plan. In May 2009, the African Union launched the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA). The Maputo Plan of Action and CARMMA represent the two targets of MDG5, reducing maternal mortality and assuring universal access to reproductive health. These complementary efforts will increase the attention and commitment to the end result – achieving MDG5 (and others) by 2015.
We are asking you to recommit to making the Maputo Plan of Action a reality and to moving Africa toward social and economic sustainability. At the Summit of the African Union, we hope you will:
- Invest in family planning – a ‘quick win’ to substantially reduce maternal mortality. The world must commit another US $12 billion a year to fulfill the unmet need for family planning and provide every woman with the recommended standard of maternal and newborn care.
- Prioritize young people to ensure access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services.
- Strengthen health systems, prioritizing sexual and reproductive health through targeting policies, programs, and budgeting.
- Advance and protect human rights for girls and women.
We know how to save the lives of girls and women through cost-effective solutions: family planning programs; skilled care for mothers and newborns before, during, and after childbirth, including emergency obstetric care; and safe abortion, when and where legal. And, we know how women who survive pregnancy and childbirth can deliver for the world. You’ve already set out the plan. Now, we need to work together to implement these solutions so that together we can reduce maternal and newborn deaths and harness that power for increased productivity, strong health systems, empowered girls with greater potential, and a more prosperous world for us all.
Invest in women - it pays!
Signed,
Jill Sheffield
President, Women Deliver
Entry Comments
We,the African women need to act fast and now in solidarity to achieve the MDGs especially in Africa,for there is so much ignorance. Sexual and reproductive health should be promoted and education is the answer.
What about integrity? You have already committed yourself so do the honorable thing now and follow through with all the promises you have made.
let the change happen that needs to happen for women in africa!
We have the required human and financial resources to achieve MDG 5 in Africa. The problem is lack of political will and commitment on the side of our African leaders. Lets fight corruption and the politics of primitive accumulation among our politicians. We have all it takes to save women and girls from morbidity and mortality due to factors we all know how to control. Our leaders should organize our healthcare system and implement evidence-based maternal health interventions that will work effectively in various communities to reduce needless maternal morbidity and mortality. This is the right time to act, saving the lives of women and girls in Africa holds the hope and promise for sustaining the future generation of our continent, Africa!
To sustain their development action plan, all African states should allocate more resources to improve maternal and newborn health status.
We need to tell to our leaders that there are many mothers and girls who are not reached by several interventions. Particularly importance is the issue of geographically marginalized mothers. We should device ways reach them
SRH should be the cornerstone of effective programming and we cannot afford to do this without the involvement of the communities…down-stream suport is needed to support such initiatives!
I strongly support the idea and initiative and we need that political will from our leaders to make a change in the lives of African women who gave birth to them. It is just unfortunate that women should got through this kind of inhuman treatment just for the sake of giving birth. This unacceptable.Whatever the problem is, it can be rectified therefore as leaders of our continent, just turn back and have a closer look at your dear wife, mother, sister and auntie and think if you really want any of them to die just for the sake of giving birth. The time to act is Now! ACTION NOW!
I want to strongly add my voice to those of others to re-echo the need to ensure that the points raised above form the central focus of the summit. Without health of our mothers and children, we can never boast of a growing economy because health impacts on economic development. The question I pose to those that carry the ideology of “first addressing the economy in order to support maternal, infant and Child health and development”, is about the difficulty in separating the the two areas. Health and Economic development are intertwined and therefore can not be separted but to be looked at concurrently. Without a health population,no single country can attain economic development.
Africa needs concerete targets that will have a direct effect on her population which in turn will impact economic development.
For God And My Country, Uganda.
Keep it up, you have specific goals and determined effort. God bless you, I pray and hope one day African girls and women will feel and honour your great support. African leaders should show support to the Women deliver team.
Political commitment of all African leaders is vital in achieving MDGs5,4(&others;).It is key in working together in implementing Maputo plan of action.Enough has been said but not done. It is time to breakforth.Quality life of mothers & babies gives birth to a healthy, productive community. Invest in women for assured social&economic; sustainability. With healthy women in the region, Africa won;t go wrong. Africa will shine but African leaders must be committed and give the monster - maternal & child mortality the bloody run of its life. Prioritise and avail resources it can be done.
Lots of thanks
it pays to invest in women. lets do it now. tomorrow is late
Women are the backbone of all nations and all efforts must be made to safeguard their health. The Maputo Plan of Action needs to be made a reality
Provide adequate resource and suport for SRH including Increasing Male Participation in sexual reproductive Health.Providing sexual health and reproductive health education, addressing socio-cultural practices that predisposes girls and women to high risk pregnanct and STI/HIV Infections. its wise to invest in SRH because in SRH everyone counts and the root causes of all health programmes can be addressed through SRH.
Invest in women—it pays!
No continent has more to gain or more to lose in terms of women’s health and rights. African leaders need to step up and prioritize reproductive and maternal health of women in their countries. Many have, and many more should. The Maputo Plan of Action is a major step in that direction.
Respected Heads of States, a nation’s wealth is a function of her peoples’ health. We cannot afford to fail the generations yet unborn.Please rise with courage and do what you promised.I give my full and total support to this cause.
Dear State Leaders of Africa, Why we waste time when there is little time to reach MDG 5(a&b)Targets? Don’t we ALL know more we make delay, more we sacrifice the lives of millions of our mothers? Isn’t it not the time to activate the Maputo plan of Action so that not a single mother had to die but get’s access to minimum reproductive health care?
Also with it’s effective implementation in Africa could be replicated elsewhere in the world where maternal mortality and morbidity are of equal concern as in Africa!
In solidarity…from Bangladesh
The work that has been done so far is inspiring but we need to keep the momentum going!
Helping women in Africa means investing for a better world
I SUPPORT EVERY MISSION TO HELP INCREASE USE OF CONTRACEPTIVES AND TO REDUCE MATERNAL MORTALITY IN AFRICA, COUNT ME IN ANY SMALL WAY I CAN HELP.
Je partage la cnviction des femmmes, de nos mères pour l’atteinte d’abord des OMD et ensuite pour un meilleur cadre de vie pour nous. Je me félicite aussi de la place qui est faite aux jeunes dans ces propositions car nous sommes des leaders aujourd’hui et nous devons jouer notre partition dans le développement de notre continent et de nos pays respectifs
African Leaders should walk the talk. It is one thing to promise change, but effecting it has always been a challenge. They should lead by example. By having faith in their own health care system and using it, instead of always opting to dash off to some foreign country for first class treatment. First by ensuring that health care centers and providers are given priority in terms of funding, research and motivation. Channel funds, resources and infrastructure in the health sector, give proper education to the medical field, then the people will have faith in their own health systems,fight corruption in the sector by eliminating fraud, greed and brain drain, by making it an institution that is regarded as “service beyond self”, ethics and integrity should be part and parcel of any profession.
Educate the women, children and men, for an educated society is able to make well informed decisions regarding their welfare.
Remove stigmatization of women and children regarding sexual reproduction. Work with all sectors of society, i.e religious, political,cultural to educate, inform and pass laws that will see each individual get the benefit of an efficient health system.
The right to access health should be every individuals right.
Prohibitive health costs i.e Health insurance should be affordable to even the poorest of the poor.
If some of these are fronted and executed, maternal deaths will decrease enormously. African leaders should be committed to changing the lives of their people, not just selling hot air especially when it comes to re-election!.
A healthy, educated and prosperous nation translates into a vibrant,creative and forward thinking society.
Girls need to know how to be assertive and also to realise that it doesnt matter what one has done in the past but we as ladies need to focus on the future and see what it holds for us