WASHINGTON, April 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The White Ribbon
Alliance for Safe Motherhood today made public its appeals to the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank to drastically
increase investments in women's health. Citing recent reports
that the UN Millennium Development Goal to reduce maternal
mortality by 75% by 2015 is unlikely to be met in Asia until 2076
and many years later in Africa, they challenged world leaders to
move from empty pledges to definitive action, underscoring that
99% of maternal deaths occur in developing nations and jeopardize
progress to reduce infant mortality and combat HIV/AIDS and
malaria.
"Maternal mortality is the single greatest health indicator of
the failure of governments to meet the basic needs of society's
poorest and most vulnerable women, said Theresa Shaver, White
Ribbon Alliance Executive Director. "Whether in Bangladesh or
the Bronx, where there is the political will to invest in health
care systems to provide quality obstetric and emergency care,
almost all women live through the complications that would
otherwise kill them."
Experts estimate a package of maternal health services costing
less than US$1.50 per person could make significant improvements
in women's health in the 75 countries where 95% of maternal and
child deaths occur. However, funding for population, family
planning and reproductive health has declined since the
mid-1990s, especially if HIV/AIDS money is excluded. Meanwhile,
aid to the least developed countries has essentially stalled
since 2003.
"Just as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank played a
critical role catalyzing unprecedented investments in
anti-retroviral therapy for more than two million people living
with HIV/AIDS in Africa, we challenge them to prioritize
investments in women's health to save mother's lives now
needlessly lost in these same countries," said Lennie Kamwendo,
Chairperson of the White Ribbon Alliance in Malawi.
"Every minute another woman dies in childbirth," continued
Shaver. "It is past time for the world's most powerful nations
to meet their obligations with no less urgency than steps taken
to fight the war on terrorism and secure stability of financial
institutions. Not only is an investment in women's health one
that reaps enormous economic benefits, it is the right thing to
do."
The White Ribbon Alliance is leading a global campaign - A
Promise to Mothers Lost: Healthy Pregnancy and Safe Childbirth
for All - to hold world leaders to account for the tragedy of
maternal mortality during the upcoming meetings of the World
Economic Forum in South Africa, G8 Summit in Japan and the UN
Call to Action in New York.
Source: WHITE RIBBON ALLIANCE FOR SAFE MOTHERHOOD
CONTACT: Deborah Clark, Communications Director of White Ribbon
Alliance for Safe Motherhood, +1-202-679-2399, debclark@promisetomothers.org
Web Site: http://www.whiteribbonalliance.org/