Urgent Action Needed to Address Maternal Deaths in the U.S., New Report Says Washington, March 12, 2010 – A new report by Amnesty International USA details the soaring rates of maternal death and pregnancy-related complications in the United States, particularly affecting minorities and those living in poverty.
Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA, urges President Obama to address the problem as two and three women die every day during pregnancy and childbirth in the USA, yet approximately half of these deaths could be prevented. 1.7 million women a year, one-third of all pregnant women in the country, suffer from pregnancy-related complications.
Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, noted, in a press release, how minorities, those living in poverty, Native American and immigrant women and those who speak little or no English are particularly affected.
“Good maternal care should not be considered a luxury available only to those who can access the best hospitals and the best doctors. Women should not die in the richest country on earth from preventable complications and emergencies,” said Mr. Cox.
The report also highlights a number of barriers to maternal health care, including: lack of coverage; shortage of health care professionals, a serious obstacle to timely and adequate care; inflexible appointments, lack of child care and difficulty in taking time of work.
It also addresses the systematic failures, particularly how the U.S. “lacks the political will to make sure good care is available to all women.” Examples of systematic failures include, but are limited to,: family planning gaps; lack of prenatal care; inadequate care following birth; and understaffing.
Deadly Delivery calls for federal accountability on the issue of improving maternal health via an Office of Maternal Health within the Department of Health and Human Services; increasing support for community health centers; establishing state maternal mortality review boards and implementing presumptive eligibility for Medicaid in all states.
UN Population Award Given to Bill & Melinda Gates and Asian Parliamentary Group New York, March 9, 2010 – The United Nations today honored Bill and Melinda Gates and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development with its prestigious Population Awards, bestowed to recognize outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals.
Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders and co-chairs of the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have long been working on global health and population issues under the premise that “all lives have equal value.” Mr. and Mrs. Gates have long focused on problems of maternal health and family planning in developing countries, and on identifying the root causes of these problems in order to find innovative solutions. Additionally, the Gates Foundation has championed the Millennium Development Goals.
The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), created in 1981, comprises 25 national parliamentarian committees and has offices in 13 countries. Its main goal, according to a report to the Award Committee, is to inform, educate, motivate and involve parliamentarians on issues related to reproductive health, family planning, food security, ageing, urbanization, migration, HIV and AIDS and women’s empowerment. AFPPD also helps prepare laws on the elimination of violence against women in Asian countries.
The UN Population Award, established by the UN General Assembly in 1981, was first presented in 1983, to Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel. The award committee of 10 member states, chaired by Malaysia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Hamidon Ali, chose the 2010 winners from 28 international nominees. The awards are due to be presented on June 3, at the United Nations, New York.
2011 Family Planning Budget Request Largest Ever Washington, March 5, 2010 -- Funding for family planning and reproductive health in the fiscal year 2010 budget was made public today with the release of the congressional budget justification document for foreign assistance. It demonstrates that the U.S. is back as an international leader on family planning and reproductive health issues.
The Obama administration is proposing $715.7 million for bilateral and multilateral international family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) assistance — a 10 percent increase above the $648.5 million that Congress appropriated in FY 2010 in the omnibus spending bill.
If Congress approves the spending, it would represent the largest amount of funding for international FP/RH programs—not accounting for inflation—ever approved.
Of the $716 million requested, $50 million is proposed for a U.S. contribution to UNFPA, the U.N. Population Fund, which provides critical FP/RH care in more than 150 countries. The remaining $666 million is for bilateral programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID), which provides family planning assistance in more than 50 countries.
For more information, go to: Population Action International, U.S. Policies & Funding Washington Memo.
Spanish Senate Approves Less Restrictive Abortion Law February 25, 2010 – The Spanish Senate yesterday rejected the Catholic Bishops and the Vatican’s opposition to safe and legal abortion by voting to ease the country’s restrictions on abortion.
The new law recognizes a woman’s right to an abortion, legalizes the procedure up to 14 weeks gestation and allows 16- and 17-year-olds to have abortions without parental consent.
In a statement released by Catholics for Choice, Marysa Navarro-Aranguren, Chair of the Board of Catholics for Choice, said, “The Spanish government has done the right thing in liberalizing the abortion law. There is widespread support in the country for reform. Despite the best efforts of the Catholic bishops to argue otherwise, Catholic politicians know that you can support access to abortion and continue to be a good Catholic.”
According to a recent poll by Catholics for Choice: 62% of Spaniards say that abortion generally should be legal during the first trimester of pregnancy; 68% of Spaniards disagree with the bishops’ opposition to abortion; 87% believe abortion should be legal when a pregnancy poses a serious threat to a woman’s life; 86% believe it should be legal when it poses a serious threat to a woman’s physical or mental health or is the result of rape or incest (82%).
The new law will take affect in June 2010.
Click here to read a summary of the new law by the Guttmacher Institute.
UN Review of Women’s Status Worldwide Begins Next Week New York, Feb. 23, 2010 – Diplomats and non-governmental organizations will review recent global advances toward equality between men and women when they gather here next week for a session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
The March 1-12 meeting coincides with both International Women’s Day March 8 and a UN General Assembly event March 2 marking the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration of the 1995 Fourth Annual Conference on Women.
At Beijing, governments agreed to address 12 areas of concern for women, including the need for universal girls’ education, an end to violence against women and access to lifesaving reproductive health care. The CSW will review global progress toward those goals and toward the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, established by world leaders in 2000.
It will also hear presentations on 30 years of the Treaty for the Rights of Women, formally known as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); women’s economic empowerment in the context of the world financial crisis; women’s access to full employment; access and participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology; ending violence against women and girls; and the role of national mechanisms for gender equality.
The Commission on the Status of Women was established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in June 1946 with the aim of promoting women’s rights in political, civil, economic, social and educational fields. The commission also makes recommendations to ECOSOC on urgent problems regarding women’s rights.
For more information: CSW 54th Session
Secretary of State Clinton Delivers Major Speech Renewing U.S. Support For Universal Access to Reproductive Health Worldwide For more information, visit www.ICPD2015.org
Washington -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a major speech on January 8, 2010, to mark the 15th year of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Secretary Clinton announced the U.S. Government’s renewed support for and dedication to reaching the ICPD goals and other related UN agreements, including the Millennium Development Goals, by 2015.
The Secretary said that “women’s health is essential to the prosperity and health of all people,” and that the U.S. has rejoined with all governments to “make the access to reproductive healthcare a basic right”.
A video archive of the speech is available on www.icpd2015.org. C-SPAN 2 also broadcast the speech live on cable systems around the United States. An archive of the C-SPAN 2 broadcast is available on its Web site.
Background
At the 1994 ICPD held in Cairo, Egypt, 179 nations reached consensus on actions needed to achieve universal access to education, especially for girls; reductions in infant, child and maternal mortality, and universal access to reproductive health over the next 20 years.
Many United Nations conferences and international meetings have reaffirmed the ICPD "Cairo Consensus", including the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, that established the Beijing Platform for Action, and the 2000 Millennium Summit, that established the Millennium Development Goals. These mutually reinforcing commitments are the cornerstones of population and development policies for the international community.
Recent polls show that a majority of Americans across the ideological spectrum strongly support the principles in the worldwide consensus reached at the ICPD, including providing voluntary family planning and reproductive health services.
Millions of lives have been improved and saved through effective and affordable reproductive health programs, which have proven to prevent the deaths of women and children, reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, grow economies and preserve natural resources.
United Nations and non-governmental leaders agree that though successful programs exist, far more progress needs to be made, including a a sustained, long-term commitment by both the public and private sectors. Tamara Kreinin, Executive Director of Women and Population at the United Nations Foundation, said “UNFPA, NGOs, bilateral donors, and developing country governments have all contributed significantly to implementing the ICPD agenda to help women and girls around the world over the past fifteen years."
Ms. Kreinin added, "Each of these sectors knows exactly what interventions save women’s lives and build healthy families and communities. The key is for the commitment and partnership among them, particularly that of our own government, to remain focused and consistent. It is indeed exciting to hear Secretary Clinton reaffirm the U.S.’s commitment.”
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