G-8 Conference Addresses Maternal, Newborn Health

The final G-8 communique statement was "just what we want the world to hear" about maternal health, Sheffield said: "Progress toward achieving MDGs 4 and 5 is seriously off track…the continuum of prevention and care…should include a greater focus on maternal, newborn and child health. Reproductive health should be made widely accessible."

She noted that the accompanying document, the Toya-ko Frame for Global Health, included even stronger language, and that influential allies including Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, had been prominent at the gathering in advocating action on behalf of mothers.

However, the final conference communique did not include either language calling for universal access to reproductive health services or the $10.2 billion annual commitment to maternal and child health that many activists had spent months promoting.

Before the three-day gathering, advocates led by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health had argued that rising food and energy prices worldwide make the increased spending more urgent. Francisco Songane, director of the Partnership, which is a coalition of 250 organizations headquartered in Geneva, said, "We are afraid that unless help comes now, the situation will worsen and the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] will continue to evade our grasp."

MDGs 4 and 5, which seek reductions in child and maternal deaths respectively, are considered the most unlikely of the eight MDGs to be achieved by the 2015 target date because of weak health systems in developing countries, a chronic shortage of health workers, and lack of investment and political commitment. Total world investment in 2006 totaled US$3.5 billion, a third of the needed amount, Songane said.

"To save the lives of six million mothers and children each year, we know what to do, we know how to do it, we know the cost, and sadly we know the cost of not doing it," Sheffield argued. "Clearly, this would be a sound economic investment."

G-8 host country Japan was instrumental in elevating maternal and child health on the conference agenda and has long been a strong contributor to the cause. "Japan knows from its own experience that by placing mothers and children first, a country can build strong health care and long-lasting development," said Makoto Yaguchi of the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning, a Partnership member.

In late June, 26 Democratic women members of the U.S. House of Representatives called on President Bush to "provide real leadership on this issue that is so fundamental to human existence around the world." In a letter, the women said U.S. funding against HIV/AIDS and other diseases would be futile without new funds to address the needs of mothers and newborns.

The White Ribbon Alliance mobilized 36 prominent women to petition the spouses of the G-8 leaders to "do what you can to make it happen" for mothers and newborns. Signers included former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Random House CEO Gail Rebuck, World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, journalist Christine Amanpour and celebrities Naomi Campbell, Dame Judi Dench, Annie Lennox, Yoko Ono, Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Schiffer and Emma Thompson, among others.

CLICK HERE to read a press release from The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health.

CLICK HERE to read Jill Sheffield's blog posts from throughout the summit.

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