Updates

In Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's Women's eNews' piece, "Mothers Should Not Die Giving Life," he puts a face on the stats -- his sister, Asmau.

Yesterday, Sarah Brown wrote a piece for the Guardian on her new campaign to improve maternal care. In the article she referenced Professor Allan Rosenfield's famous quote, "Where is the 'M' in MCH?" To address this question, she referenced some recent positive steps forward.

A new report, "Economic Impact of Unsafe Abortion-Related Morbidity and Mortality: Evidence and Estimation Challenges," reveals that unsafe abortion-related morbidity and mortality (UARMM) exacts a huge price annually in terms of the lives and health of women in developing countries each year.

The Going for Goals publication was a joint production by Marie Stopes International and seven other international NGOs who are concerned at the slow progress being made in meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The December issue of National Geographic has a great piece on maternal and child health in the central part of India's Maharashtra state. The author, Tina Rosenberg, focuses on the Jamkhed program that trains local midwives to administer health services and deliver babies safely.

One of the many remarkable and heartening aspects of the 2008 U.S. election is that it has engaged the entire world. As we have already heard from countless friends, colleagues, and supporters, we are suddenly living in a time not just of daunting challenges, but of inspiring opportunity and hope.

The BBC has produced a new multi-series documentary called “Survival” that includes a 45-minute look at maternal health in Bangladesh. To capture the true story, the filmmakers traveled to a remote area in the North East of Bangladesh and filmed the labor of a young woman, Morjina, in her small hut with the aid of traditional birth attendant, or dhai.

These are tough economic times for most countries around the world, but Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance of continued support for the efforts of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to empower the world’s women, particularly to improve maternal health and promote gender equality. 

Yesterday, the event we co-organized at the UN Millennium Hotel was a giant success. At Commitment to Progress for Mothers, Newborns and Children, the co-hosts, Presidents of Chile, Finland, and the United Republic of Tanzania, put the world on alert that the 2015 targets to reduce maternal and child mortality will not be met without concerted global action.