WUNRN
Top 10 Maternal Health Highlights in 2010
December 15th, 2010
Looking back over the
past year, we have much to celebrate. The following list is not exhaustive, but
recaps some of the most prominent maternal health-related milestones and events
of 2010. As we push forward into 2011, we celebrate both the successes and solutions
of the past year, as well as the barriers to success we can learn from in order
to streamline our strategies to best reach MDG 5.
1.
Maternal Deaths Dropping and Solutions to Celebrate, September 2010
Some good news!
While maternal health statistics are often chilling, we cannot overlook the
global achievements and country-specific successes of this year. The number of
women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased
by 34% from an estimated 546,000 in 1990 to an estimated 358,000 in 2008, according to a new report, "Trends in maternal
mortality."
Additionally, our
staff consistently reports on country-specific successes in maternal health
through our Celebrate Solutions series. Stay tuned as we continue to
profile country accomplishments and technological advancements.
2.
Delivering Solutions for Girls and Women: Women Deliver Conference, June 2010
The Women
Deliver 2010 conference joined 3,400 advocates, policymakers, development
leaders, health care professionals, youth, advocates, and media representing
146 countries from June 7-9 in
Richard
Horton, the editor of the The Lancet, called the 2010 Women Deliver conference
“the most significant event for the future of women and children in 20 years”
and Melinda Gates declared that the Gates Foundation would commit
$1.5 billion in new grant money for maternal and newborn health during the conference.
The success of this
conference comes from the support and action of the diverse players, from UN agencies
to NGOs, from government officials to funders. This collaboration is necessary
to move forward in overcoming obstacles towards reaching MDG 5.
3.
Calls for Action: Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, September
& November 2010
In September, a
variety of stakeholders from the private, government, international,
non-profit, and research sectors pledged new commitments to maternal health—including over $40
billion—at the official launch of the Global
Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health during the global summit
on the Millennium Development Goals (MGS). Track these commitments at the
official website for the program, Every Woman, Every Child.
To catalyze action
regarding the challenges ahead, Women Deliver co-hosted a brunch “Accelerating Action on the MDGs: Delivering for Girls, Women,
and Babies,” as a prelude to the MDG Summit at the UN in September.
Speakers and group discussions echoed concerns about the remaining barriers,
and again highlighted the importance of accountability, integration, synergy,
and commitment (financial and political) in achieving the goals. Details here.
In November, the Partnership for
Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Partner's Forum gathered for a
follow-up meeting in
4.
G8/G20 Commit to Improving Maternal Health, June 2010
This year, the leaders
of the G8 countries pledged a total of $5 billion to maternal, newborn, and
child health, prioritized maternal and child health in the G8 Communiqué, and
launched the Muskoka Initiative to accelerate efforts towards improving
maternal and child health. These leaders reaffirmed that despite overall
declining rates of maternal mortality, progress is “unacceptably slow,” and
identified solutions to maternal mortality like: strong health systems, sexual
and reproductive health care and services, and family planning. Details here.
In addition, the G20 decided to create a Working Group on development issues
for the first time ever, adding a social approach to their usually
finance-heavy work. The G20 leaders stated, ““Narrowing the development gap and
reducing poverty are integral to our broader objective of achieving strong,
sustainable and balanced growth and ensuring a more robust and resilient global
economy for all.”
5. The
Renewal of the
With your support, we called on the African Heads of State to
revitalize their 2006 commitment to sexual and reproductive health through the
renewal of the Maputo Plan. We asked that these leaders promote family
planning, focus on youth, strengthen health systems, and advance and protect
women’s and children’s rights. In July, African leaders acknowledged the
fundamental role that women play in the development of their countries, and
agreed to invest in women.
6.
Global Maternal Health Conference in
The Maternal Health
Task Force (MHTF) and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) co-hosted
the Global
Maternal Health Conference, uniting 700 maternal health experts to share
experiences, lessons, neglected issues and innovations surrounding MDG 5. Pam
Barnes, President of EngenderHealth highlighted five issues that emerged during conference:
1) Solutions must be
allocated to the right resource personnel; solutions are not effective unless
they can be distributed.
2) Creative solutions to limited health professionals must be brainstormed, for
example ‘task shifting.
3) Accountability. Barriers to achieving MDG 5 are both in and outside the
clinic; advocacy is essential for checks and balances.
4) Maternal health is horizontal; “connecting the dots” between cultural,
social and economic variables that affect maternal health and other Millennium
Development Goals.
5) Community-and facility-based maternal care is (locally) context specific.
The Maternal Health Mapping Project, a project to link maternal
health resources to each other in-country and worldwide, was highlighted at
this conference.
7.
Mifepristone, Misoprostol, and Birth Control Pills Celebrate Anniversaries, May
and September 2010
In September, we
celebrated the ten year anniversary of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA)’s approval of mifepristone, commonly known for its use in
combination with misoprostol in medical abortions. These drugs have
significantly changed the experience of abortion by increasing access, ease and
privacy, as well as providing women a choice between a medical or surgical
option when ending a pregnancy.
Mother’s Day marked
the 50th anniversary of the approval of the birth control pill in
the
While we applaud the
milestone that these reproductive health technologies represent, we must
acknowledge the millions of women, mostly in developing countries, continue to
face barriers in access, affordability, and use.
“When a
woman is able to manage her fertility, she is better able to manage her life
and to realize her full potential as a human being,” said
Jill Sheffield, President of Women Deliver. “This has tremendous positive
implications for her family, her community, and her country, and is a solid
cost-effective solution to maternal deaths worldwide. The advent of the birth
control pill in the
8.
Corporates Engage with Global Health Issues and Organizations, May and June
2010
This year, the Global Summit for Women in
In June, leaders from
science, industry, policy, medical practice, and public health met at the Pacific Health
Summit to address challenges that face maternal and newborn health with the
goal of forging new alliances and public-private partnerships focused on
innovation, implementation, and collaboration. The theme of the 2010 event was:
“Maternal and Newborn Health: The Crux of a Decent Humanity.”
At the Women Deliver
2010 conference, corporates stepped forward to discuss “Doing
Business and Doing Good.” At the conference, there were 37 corporations
with 70 individuals represented. This engagement included sponsors, speakers,
exhibitors, and participants, and there were three corporate concurrent
sessions covering a range of topics: public-private partnerships, mobile
technologies, and investing in girls and women. Read guest columns and news from our corporate partners.
Watch a video of Corporate Engagement at Women Deliver
Conference 2010, and watch a speech from Mikkel
Vestergaard at the brunch in September.
9.
mHealth and Mobile Technology Innovations Take Center Stage, November 2010
Over 2,700 tech gurus,
government officials, non-profit organizations, researchers and private sector
companies attended the mHealth Summit in DC at the
Successful pilot
projects are already in the works – read about mHealth solutions to maternal health, training and mobile health technology in Rwanda, the mWomen Programme launched by Cherie Blair and Hillary
Clinton, Mobile Health for Mothers launched by Johnson &
Johnson, FrontlineSMS:Medic, and Text4Baby.
10.
New Year’s Resolution: Keep Pushing!
While we can celebrate
many solutions, we still face challenges ahead. The global maternal mortality
rate reflects rampant inequities and huge disparities still exist between rich
and poor countries, and between the rich and poor in all countries. The rate of
decline is less than half of what it needs to be to achieve MDG 5 by 2015.
Other organizations
have voiced this concern. During the 61st session of the
WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, in October, regional representatives
and governments discussed women’s health in a human rights context. In the same
vein, the UN released a report in October that recognized the
progress made regarding obstetric fistula in the developed world, but which
outlines the debilitating reality the condition still poses for women in the
developing world. Likewise, The Lancet applauded the increased support of
maternal, newborn, and children health programs from the Official Development
Assistance (ODA), but criticized resource allocation and prioritization.
At our global
conference, experts identified critical barriers
to success. By examining these roadblocks, and examining the existing solutions,
we can then actively strategize to learn from what has worked and what hasn’t
worked in order to reach MDG 5.