New Fund Targets Maternal Deaths

CONTACT:

Katja Iversen, UNFPA, +1-212-297-5016, +1-917- 403-3063 (mobile), iversen@unfpa.org

NEW YORK, Feb. 14 – In a valentine to mothers everywhere, the United Nations agency dedicated to women’s health today announced plans to raise nearly $500 million in the next four years to boost maternal health systems and services around the world.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will set up a special fund in partnership with governments, other UN agencies and organizations to support action in 75 countries where maternal and newborn mortality rates are greatest.

“No woman should die giving life,” said UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid. “To have a healthy society, you have to have healthy mothers.” She noted that lack of political will and investment has stalled progress in many countries against complications of pregnancy and childbirth, which kill a woman every minute of every day – 10 million per generation.

“It is critical to invest in women if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” she said. “Millions of deaths and disabilities could be prevented if every woman had access to reproductive health services.”

The new fund will encourage developed countries and private sponsors to contribute more toward saving women’s lives. The goal is to raise $485 million by 2011, which will support improving national health systems, training skilled birth attendants and promoting family planning and access to other reproductive health services, especially emergency care for mothers and newborns with complications. It will also support ways of empowering women to exercise their right to maternal health, Obaid said.

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