Integration and Co-operation Key to Saving Mothers

9th June, 2010

Women Deliver Conference 2010

UN Secretary General urges concerted global action to fast-track progress on reducing maternal deaths

The importance of integration of health services at local level and of co-operation at global level in efforts to reduce maternal deaths were a dominant theme on the first day of discussions at the 2nd Women Deliver Conference, which opened in Washington DC today.

“For the first time, integration is being considered as a way forward,” said Dr John Nduba, AMREF’s Director for Reproductive and Child Health. “There are admissions that mistakes have been made through vertical programming, which has been a disservice to mothers and children’s health. Donors have been dictating what they want done in recipient countries, but these programmes have not been effective because they have been concentrating on individual diseases and losing sight of the person in need. Now others are beginning to catch on to what AMREF has been saying all along: that a working health system, centred on and including the community, is the only way to improve health holistically, including that of mothers and children.”

The 2nd Women Deliver Conference runs from June 7 to June 9, and is attended by over 3,000 participants, including government and international leaders, policy makers, experts in health, research and financing, media, and organisations and individuals working around the world to improve the health and status of women and children.

In his keynote at the opening of the conference, UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon urged integration and co-operation in global efforts to improve maternal and child health. While acknowledging that some progress has been made to reverse the high rates of maternal and child deaths, ki Moon pointed out that the trend was too slow and that it was not universal. Concerted effort was needed to make a definite impact in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health, he said, and to this end announced a new global joint action plan to accelerate women’s and children health around world.

“We know what to do, and we know how to do it. More midwives, antenatal care, basic antibiotics, blood transfusion, operating rooms and access to transportation can eliminate deaths of mothers. But women are still dying, 99 per cent of them in the developing countries. The best solution is through global partnerships. We must act now, and we must act together. We have been doing it piecemeal, each group doing its own thing, but this has not worked. If we work together, we will succeed.”

The Secretary General urged governments, foundations, corporations, non-governmental organisations, local and civil societies to quickly finalise plans of action and make maternal health a priority agenda at all international fora. He emphasised the importance of political will and leadership in promoting this agenda and for a wholesome approach to women’s health, including addressing issues of gender discrimination, domestic violence, rape, and trafficking of women for sex. “Women cannot be productive if they live in fear,” he said.

While there was note of optimism at the conference following recent statistics indicating a reversal in maternal mortality rates, Dr Nduba urges caution. “While the situation may be improving in some parts of the world, AMREF’s assessment is that there has been no progress in most parts of the Africa, and it is even deteriorating in some countries. There is still a lot of work to be done, and we must be careful to use information that reflects the real situation on the ground.”

Dr Nduba lauded Melinda Gates for her announcement today of a new commitment by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, of which she is co-chair, to give US$1.5 million over the next five years for maternal and child health, over and above the funding that the foundation is already giving to improve global health.

“Melinda Gates is a great champion and star advocate for maternal health. She has made it her personal mission to do what she can to improve the health of mothers and children around the world. But not only is she passionate about the issue, she also puts her money where her mouth is. If other foundations, corporations and governments were to follow her example by prioritising the issue and making resources available, developing countries would be able to make much speedier progress to attaining the health-related MDGs.”

Stand Up for African Mothers Banner AMREF is attending the ‘Women Deliver’ Conference and we are showcasing our work saving Mothers’ and children’s lives. The AMREF message at the conference is ‘Stand Up for African Mothers.’ This is a drive to draw attention to the plight of mothers and raise money to train more health workers and equip more health centres. AMREF is the only organisation in Africa that has trained health workers, including midwives, for over 50 years. The midwives we have trained in some instances have increased the chances of a mother surviving birth by six times.

By 2015, AMREF wants to train an extra 3,000 midwives per year, who could save the lives of 70,000 mothers, reducing maternal deaths in Africa by 25 per cent.