Urgent Action Needed on Maternal Health, Global Leaders Affirm

Addis Ababa, October 27, 2009 –  Family planning emerged as key to improving maternal health this week at a gathering here of more than 150 delegates from around the world.

The High-Level Meeting on Maternal Health – Millennium Development Goal (MDG5) sought to push maternal health higher on national political agendas and to increase political and financial commitment to achieve MDG5, which is lagging behind.

The Addis Call to Urgent Action recommends several steps to achieve MDG5 by 2015, including:

• Prioritize family planning, one of the most cost-effective development investments. “If we ensure access to modern contraception,” affirmed the delegates, “we can prevent up to 40 per cent of maternal deaths.”
• Make adolescents a priority by investing in their health, education and livelihoods; and
• Strengthen health systems, especially sexual and reproductive health care. If a health system can deliver for women, it is a strong one that benefits all, according the participants.

The Addis Call to Action was presented at the opening of the Fourth International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, which is taking place here at the United Nations Conference Centre.

UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, in her keynote speech, stressed that action to improve maternal health needs to be accelerated. “To improve maternal health, we need to scale up and deliver a comprehensive package of sexual and reproductive health information, supplies and services,” she said. 

We know what it would cost to meet our goals, she added, “And sadly, we know the cost of too little action. It would cost the world $23 billion per year to stop women from having unintended pregnancies and dying in childbirth, and to save millions of newborns.”

The one-day event was organized by Bert Koenders, Minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and was hosted by the Government of Ethiopia.

past features