A new report released by the Guttmacher Institute and Fundación Oriéntame assesses that the number of induced abortions in Colombia rose between 1989 and 2008. Despite this, the country’s abortion rate rose only minimally; indicating a rise in the number of reproductive aged women as the reason for growth. Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Colombia: Causes and Consequences, points to the criminal nature of abortions by the Colombian government as the major source of complications and health risks to women. Read more...
Updates
Additional Contraceptive Services Needed to Reduce Unsafe Abortions in Colombia
September 9th, 2011
Event Alert: World Bank Online Forum on Gender Asks, ‘How Do We Get to Equal?’
August 30th, 2011
If questions like why women make up the majority of unpaid workers worldwide and why only one in five lawmakers globally are women leave you perplexed and—quite frankly—mad, tune and make your voice heard during the World Bank’s Open Forum, “Gender – Getting to Equal,” on Sept. 20th and 21st. Read more...
USAID Study Shows Effectiveness of Collaborative Improvement Approach for Improving Health Systems
August 10th, 2011
A new study from the USAID Health Care Improvement Project shows that a quality improvement method widely used in the US called collaborative improvement is also effective in low- and middle-income countries. The fundamental concept underlying the field of improvement is that a system left unchanged can only be expected to continue to produce the same results. Read more…
Lancet Series Responds to the 2.6 Million Stillbirths Occurring Each Year
April 14th, 2011
Today, The Lancet launched a new series on stillbirths. In six series papers, two research articles, and eight comments, global health experts illustrate how stillbirths have been rendered invisible in the global health arena, and what can be done to bring these tragedies to light. Through new analysis of stillbirth occurrences, success stories and lessons learned from around the world, with a focus on the poor and marginalized, The Lancet Stillbirth Series is a call to action that we cannot afford to ignore. Read more...
New Findings on Official Development Assistance to Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
October 1st, 2010
A new report published in The Lancet reveals that Official Development Assistance (ODA) in support of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programs increased in 2007 and 2008, yet concerns persist over how countries are prioritized. ODA for MNCH programs increased from $4.7 billion in 2007 to $5.4 billion in 2008 for all developing countries, with Countdown priority countries receiving 71.6% of MNCH aid in 2007, and 75.6% in 2008. Increased flows of ODA are in large part due to the efforts emerging from the Accra Agenda for Action and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which also called for a larger proportion of MNCH ODA to be disbursed as grants, not loans. Read more...
MDG5: What’s in a Maternal Death?
September 17th, 2010
By: Jill Sheffield, President of Women Deliver; originally posted at GLOBAL HEALTH Magazine Blog
It has been a big year for maternal health advocates. Next week we gear up for a global review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the Secretary-General will launch the Global Strategy for Womens and Childrens Health. These are huge steps forward, with path-cutting initiatives that will enable maternal health advocates, providers, and donors to do our work more effectively.
The recent UN maternal mortality figures are further good news, which confirm what we have all been hoping for: globally, mortality rates are down and we have been doing something right.
But have we been doing enough right? While the latest estimates are welcome good news, we know more must be done - both to save womens lives and better understand the magnitude of the problem.
Women Count. So It Is Time to Count Women.
September 17th, 2010
The MHTF is soliciting reactions from the maternal health community to the newly released UN MMR data. Our hope is that, together, these comments will serve as a springboard for discussion and provide momentum towards MDG5.
By: Jill Sheffield, President, Women Deliver; originally posted at the MHTF Blog
There’s no doubt that this is excellent news. The new UN maternal mortality figures further confirm the trend that the IHME data suggested earlier this year: there is a global downward trend in maternal mortality. Who could be disappointed with that? Our hard work over the past decades is paying off.
But great news doesn’t detract from the persistent need for good, accurate, and real-time data in the maternal health field. Figures we have are estimates based, for many countries, on low-quality and incomplete data, or they are numbers derived from data models. Read more...
Statement by Jill Sheffield on New UN Report Findings
September 16th, 2010
We welcome this good news of declining numbers of mothers’ deaths. It is proof that worldwide, we know what to do to save women’s lives: investing in women pays off. The bad news is that we aren’t yet doing enough of it, because a thousand women still die every day in pregnancy and childbirth – more than 350,000 every year. Our mission is far from complete. Read more...
Maternal Deaths Worldwide Drop by 34 Percent
September 15th, 2010
The number of women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased by 34 per cent from an estimated 546 000 in 1990 to 358 000 in 2008, according to a new report, "Trends in maternal mortality", released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.
Unmarried Young Indian Women Face Obstacles To Obtaining Early Abortions
August 26th, 2010
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.
New Microbicide Gel May Allow Women to Protect Themselves
July 20th, 2010
A new study shows that topical application of a microbicide before and after sex reduced transmission of HIV by 39% and transmission of herpes by 51%, according to an article published in Science magazine. Those who used the gel most regularly reduced their chances of HIV infection by 54%. Unlike other microbicides, which have been shown to be ineffective, this new product contains tenofovir, an anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV/AIDS patients.
Health Systems are Failing the World’s Women
November 20th, 2009
Despite progress, health system shortfalls and gender discrimination are severely impacting women’s health worldwide, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) report Women and Health: Today’s Evidence, Tomorrow’s Agenda.
Family Planning Saves Mothers’ Lives
November 19th, 2009
Recent research indicates that between 25 per cent to 40 per cent of maternal deaths could be avoided by ensuring access to family planning. This data was cited in the 2009 Report of the UN Secretary-General to the Commission on Population and Development, World Population Monitoring, E/CN.9/2009/3, on page 20, citation 35, which is an article by Oona M.R. Campbell and Wendy J. Graham, “Strategies for reducing maternal mortality: getting on with what works”, that appeared in The Lancet, vol. 368, 2006.
FIGO Launches Report on Maternal and Infant Deaths
October 8th, 2009
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.
New Study on Misoprostol
March 13th, 2009
Experts estimate that post partum haemorrhage accounts for about one quarter of the estimated 535,000 women who die each year after childbirth -- that's 133,750 women. New evidence from the DFID funded Future Health Systems Research Programme Consortium was recently published in The International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Report Card on Maternal Mortality
September 30th, 2008
A new report on maternal mortality, released by UNICEF, highlights the risks faced during pregnancy and childbirth by women in developing countries.
Beyond HIV: Many STIs Can Kill Pregnant Women
September 17th, 2008
Masimba Biriwasha wrote a blog post on RH Reality Check today about the need to screen pregnant women for other STIs than HIV. She references a new study that was conducted in Cameroon on gynaecological morbidity--defined as "any condition, disease or dysfunction of the reproductive system that is not related to pregnancy, abortion or childbirth but may be related to sexual behaviour." Biriwasha says: