CONTINUING COVERAGE ON 2010 WOMEN DELIVER CONFERENCE

GLOBAL: IRIN reported on 13 June that the new United Nations Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health calls on countries to push the health of women and girls to the front of the queue and create an overarching framework for integrated health systems. A working draft of the plan was presented by Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, at Women Deliver, a global conference in Washington, US, which brought together 3,500 women health professionals and leaders from 150 countries. Read: IRIN

CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh Post reported on 11 June that Women’s Affairs Minister Ing Kantha Phavi has called on world leaders to renew and increase efforts to achieve a global goal to reduce maternal mortality rates, saying the issue should be a focus of the G-8 and G-20 summits later this month. Alice Levisay, Cambodia’s country coordinator for UNFPA, who represented her office at the conference, said in an email to the Post that Cambodia’s maternal mortality rate of 461 per 100,000 live births was the third-highest among countries in the Asia and Pacific region. “Many LDCs [least-developed countries] face the same issues, but Cambodia has particular constraints with infrastructure and human resources given its history,” she said. Read: Phnom Penh Post

CANADA: The Globe and Mail published an editorial on 8 June calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take advantage of the opportunity presented by its planned G8 initiative to become a leader in the effort to improve maternal health around the world. The editorial argued that Mr. Harper should “show real leadership by championing the United Nations Population Fund’s campaign to end fistula – and divert attention away from critics who have spoken out against his controversial decision not to fund abortion programs.” Read: The Globe and Mail

DENMARK: Denmark National Television featured an interview on 7 June with the Crown Princess, a UNFPA patron, on Women Deliver and UNFPA's campaign to eradicate fistula. Watch in Danish: Denmark National Television

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Hoy Digital reported on 8 June on the Women Deliver conference, where Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, underscored the importance of investing in women's and girls’ health, and the economic and social benefits for families, communities and nations when women and girls are healthy. Read in Spanish: Hoy Digital

GHANA: GNA reported on 8 June on two commitments announced at the 2010 Women Deliver conference. Melinda Gates announced that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will contribute $1.5 billion to efforts to improve maternal and child health over the next five years. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, commended Melinda Gates for the gesture and her commitment to ensure that women and children throughout the world enjoyed the best kind of health. In addition, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon presented the UN Joint Action Plan on Maternal and Child Health, Ms. Obaid said maternal and newborn mortality alone caused a global loss of 15 billion dollars annually and investing in children’s health would create the foundation for a more productive future workforce. She urged world leaders to invest in women’s reproductive health and rights since it was not only the right thing to do but also smart economics. Read: GNA and GNA

GERMANY: Deutsche Welle reported on 9-10 June on the Women Deliver conference and its major themes. In an interview published 10 June, Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, discussed the human rights dimensions of maternal health and interventions to improve maternal health, noting that  "Thoraya Obaid, [the executive director of the UNFPA, says our starting point, our central issue, is human rights of girls and women." Read: Deutsche Welle and in German: Deutsche Welle

GUATEMALA: Cerigua reported on 12 June that health experts, including UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, launched an international call for action during the Women Deliver conference to increase the number of midwives in the world’s poorest countries. Read in Spanish: Cerigua

MONGOLIA: Montsame reported on 9 June that a delegation from Mongolia attended the 2010 Women Deliver conference. Dr. J.Tsolmon, the Vice Minister of Health, one of the delegates from Mongolia, said, “The global Women Deliver conference will be crucial in keeping maternal and reproductive health on the agenda and Mongolia's participation shows that the issue is one of our priorities. With only 5 years to go until 2015 we need to make the right choices for improving maternal and reproductive health.”

MOZAMBIQUE: Weekly Domingo reported on 13 June that global health leaders, meeting at the Women Deliver Conference in Washinghton, DC, called the G-8 and G-20 to increase investment to midwifery services in the developing world. UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, said, “The world needs more midwives now than ever. Countries need to make midwifery a priority in plans and budgets. No woman should die giving life and we need to move from speech lines to budget lines.”

NIGERIA: The Guardian and The Vanguard reported on 8 June  on the 2010 Women Deliver conference. Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, was among the First Ladies and 3,000 representatives from an estimated 140 countries attending the Women Deliver 2010 conference. Read: The Vanguard

NIGERIA: The Daily Champion reported on 7 June on the second Women Deliver conference, held 7-9 June in Washington, DC. The article noted that the Guttmacher Institute and UNFPA estimate that ensuring access to modern contraception could prevent up to a third of maternal deaths. Read: Daily Champion

PHILIPPINES: The Philippine Inquirer published a column by Rina Jimenez David on 9 June reporting on the 2010 Women Deliver conference, and noting that UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid was among the global health leaders attending the conference. Read: Philippine Inquirer

UNITED STATES/NEPAL: Oneworld.net reported on 7 June that Samita Pradhan, director of the Women's Reproductive Rights Program, (WRRP), was set to "sound the alarm" on uterine  prolapse at a panel discussion on the opening day of the 2010 Women Deliver Conference. According to a 2007 study by UNFPA, over 600,000 Nepali women - 10% of all women of reproductive age - are affected. Read: Oneworld.net

UNITED STATES: Politics Daily reported on 10 June on the Women Deliver conference. The article noted that, “According to the U.N. Population Fund, 20 million women have unsafe abortions each year. Of that number, 68,000 die annually from complications. Twenty times that number will have life-complicating consequences. Thirteen percent of maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortion. And 90 percent of abortion-related deaths and consequences could be avoided if women had greater access to contraception and education on contraception.” Read: Politics Daily

UNITED STATES: Ms. Magazine (U.S.) published a three-part series on maternal health in its Spring 2010 issue. It noted that “in Afghanistan, which has a large rural population and where the health infrastructure was destroyed by decades of war, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is working with the Ministry of Health to train midwives and other health personnel who live in rural communities to provide essential obstetric services.” Read: Ms. Magazine

UNITED STATES: NPR reported on 8 June on Women Deliver, in a story that  included remarks by Frederica Hanson of UNFPA, who remarked on women's deaths from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, "When these women die, we don't get to know about it. We just bury them silently." Read: NPR

UNITED STATES: Huffington Post published a blog by Rahim Kanani on 6 June on the 2010 Women Deliver conference. Mr. Kanani noted that UNFPA estimates that girls who give birth between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20 to 24. Girls 15 to 19 are twice as likely to die. Read: Huffington Post

ZIMBABWE: The Standard reported on 12 June that the Zimbabwe Confederation of Midwives presented a petition for increased investment in midwives. Zimbabwe has a maternal mortality ratio of 725 per 100 000 live births, the highest in the region. This translates to about 2500 women dying each year or 8 deaths a day, according to UNFPA. The petition by the ZCM came at a time when world health leaders are meeting in Washington DC, USA at the Women Deliver Conference also called for the increase in the number of midwives in the developing world to reduce maternal deaths. UNFPA executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said, "The world needs midwives now more than ever. Countries need to make midwifery a priority in plans and budgets. No woman should die giving life and we need to move from speech lines to budget lines." Read: The Standard