____________________________________ Commonwealth Foundation Partner’s Forum 9 th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting Gender issues in the

________________________________________________________________________

Commonwealth Foundation Partner’s ForumCommonwealth Foundation Partner’s Forum99thth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting

Gender issues in the economic crisis recovery and beyond:Women as agents of transformation

Barbados 4-5 June 2010Barbados 4-5 June 2010

Maternal Mortality and the MDGsMaternal Mortality and the MDGsCommonwealth Nurses Federation

________________________________________________________________________Maternal Mortality and the MDGsMaternal Mortality and the MDGs

Commonwealth Nurses Federation

The health MDGs

* MDG 4: Reduce child mortality

* MDG 5: Improve maternal health

* MDG 6: Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases



Globally, one woman dies

every minute

from pregnancy

or childbirth related

complications.



For every woman who

dies, twenty more develop

infections or other severe

disabling problems.



The decline in maternal

mortality is 1.3% per year

instead of the 5.5% per

year required to achieve

MDG 5.



Between 2000 and 2008 fewer

than half of all pregnant

women made the WHO

recommended minimum four

antenatal visits.



Fewer than 50% of births

in Africa and South Asia,

where 82% of maternal

deaths occur, are attended

by a skilled health worker.



Maternal death is the

leading cause of death for

girls aged 15-19 years in

developing countries.



The funding gap for

maternal, newborn and

child health will be about

US$20 billion each year

between 2011 and 2015.



At our current rate of progress,

the Millennium Development

Goal for improving maternal

health will not be achieved until

2045.



One of the major reasons for the high levels

of maternal mortality in developing

countries is women’s lack of access to

appropriate health care as a result of their

social and economic status, a status that is

rooted in public policies of gender

inequality.



The position women occupy and

the opportunities they have in

the society in which they live is

directly related to maternal

mortality.



0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Australia

Canada

UK

Malta

NZ

Cyprus

Cameroon

Lesotho

Malaw i

Sierra Leone

Tanzania

Zambia

Nigeria

Maternal mortality



The adverse impact on

health of low socioeconomic

status is compounded for

women by gender inequities.



Many of the health problems

faced by adult women, leading

to an increased vulnerability

to maternal mortality, have

their origins in childhood.



Women face particular

problems in disasters and

emergencies and in

situations of political

instability and conflict.



Men still predominantly

have political control in

most societies and

therefore have social and

economic control as well.



The socioeconomic and

gender based inequalities

that women face affect

their access to and use of

health care services.



The major causes of maternal deaths are:

* haemorrhage (25%)

* infections (15%)

* unsafe abortion (13%)

* eclampsia (12%)

* obstructed labour (8%)

* other direct causes (8%)

* other indirect causes (20%)







A primary strategy in

government action plans

to achieve the MDGs

should be a focus on the

health workforce.



1. LEADERSHIP

2. RESPONSIVE HEALTH

SERVICES

3. POSITIVE PUBLIC POLICIES

4. MONITORING OUTCOMES



1. LEADERSHIP


SERVICES





1. LEADERSHIP


SERVICES





1. LEADERSHIP


SERVICES





Our failure to make significant

progress toward improving

maternal health and achieving

MDG 5 by 2015 has its roots in

gender inequality.



As women and leaders it is our role

and responsibility to be champions

for women and call our

governments to account and to take

action to improve maternal health

and meet MDG 5 by 2015.

Documents

____________________________________ Commonwealth Foundation Partner’s Forum 9 th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting Gender issues in the