Addis Ababa — Ending the needless death and suffering of women during pregnancy is one of the greatest moral, human rights and development challenges of our time, agreed more than 150 delegates that met at the High-Level Meeting on Maternal Health. Facing that challenge requires concrete action to protect and fulfill everyone’s right to sexual and reproductive health, they declared.
The High-Level Meeting, held a day before the International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, was organized to push maternal health higher on the political agenda and increase political and financial commitment for improving maternal health at the country level. The one-day event was organized by Bert Koenders, Minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and was hosted by the Government of Ethiopia.
Ministers, parliamentarians, and representatives of regional intergovernmental organizations, youth groups, private sector and civil society from around the world discussed policy challenges to achieve MDG5—which is still lagging behind—and ways to mobilize political and financial commitments. They also shared experiences and lessons that would help attain the goal. The meeting concluded with the adoption of the “Addis Call to Urgent Action for Maternal Health” that recommended specific steps to reach the goal by 2015, particularly the following key measures:
- Prioritize family planning, one of the most cost-effective development investments. “If we ensure access to modern contraception,” affirmed the delegates, “we can prevent up to 40 per cent of maternal deaths.”
- Make adolescents a priority by investing in their health, education and livelihoods; and
- Strengthen health systems with sexual and reproductive health as a priority. If a health system can deliver for women, it is a strong health system that benefits all, according the participants.
Describing maternal death as “the greatest crisis of our time,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Minister of Health of Ethiopia, highlighted, at the meeting’s opening, the need to focus on three priorities: keeping a strong momentum on MDG5; linking maternal health and the strengthening of national health systems; and partnership between developing and developed countries.
“MDG5 is the mother of all MDGs – an investment in it promotes the attainment of all other MDGs,” said Mr. Koenders. “Maternal health is a human right. To reduce health inequality, we need to listen to women. In many countries women have an unmet need for family planning.”
- To learn more about the event, click here.
- To read the Addis Call to Urgent Action for Maternal Health, click here.
- To read Executive Director Thoraya Ahmen Obaid’s speech, click here.
- To read Imane Khachani’s speech on youth and maternal mortality, click here.