Every minute somewhere in the world a woman dies due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth, amounting to more than half a million maternal deaths per year. In order to mobilize parliaments to address this situation, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Parliament of the Netherlands (Staten-General) are jointly organizing a three-day conference on the theme of Maternal and Newborn Health and Survival in The Hague (Netherlands), in the presence of HRH Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, starting today.
Ninety-nine per cent of an estimated total of 536,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2005 occurred in developing countries, more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by South Asia. There are huge discrepancies between regions and countries and within countries. Poor and rural women are the most affected. Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a maternal mortality rate of more than 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births while in Sweden, for example, only three mothers die per 100,000 live births.
Most of these deaths are preventable and progress is possible. What is often lacking is the political will and the financial investment to provide necessary services, especially for the most vulnerable communities. “Parliaments have key responsibilities to make sure that this situation is reversed. They must oversee and hold governments to account for implementing policies, adopt budgets for maternal, newborn and child health, advocate nationally and internationally for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and legislate to ensure universal access to essential care”, said the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, in The Hague.
The number of countries with well-articulated health policies and strategic plans is increasing, and development partners are more willing to support and strengthen national health plans and sectors. The objective is to provide a continuum of care for mother and child from pregnancy to infancy. Developing countries such as Botswana, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and South Africa have demonstrated that it is possible to provide access to skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and postnatal periods for every pregnant woman and her newborn, thereby reducing mortalities significantly. "Reducing maternal mortality is possible, but we need to give it more priority and more funding" said Chantal Gilliard, a Dutch member of parliament who spearheaded the initiative. “Parliamentarians have to exchange strategies and work together globally to make a difference”.
The conference is a follow-up to a first meeting of women parliamentarians from developing and developed countries held in London (United Kingdom) in March 2007 to promote investments and interventions to reduce maternal mortality and ensure maternal and newborn health and survival.
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