millenium development goals |
|
In 2000, the United Nations member countries convened and agreed to the United Nations Millennium Declaration – the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. This is a set of eight goals that aim to address global poverty by 2015. The goals range from halving extreme poverty to halting HIV and providing universal education. Australia is a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals and they are used as a guiding framework for many development agencies’ work, including Marie Stopes. Marie Stopes directly contributes to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals through the work we do in our international programs. Marie Stopes’ work addresses in particular Millennium Development Goal Five: Improve maternal health. This goal has two targets; reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio and achieve universal access to reproductive health. Improving access to sexual and reproductive health can have a catalytic impact on saving mothers’ lives and is vital to reducing the shocking maternal mortality rates that the United Nations member countries have committed to reduce.Worldwide, over 530,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth related causes every year and over 68,000 of these deaths are caused by unsafe abortion. Over 215 million women want to use contraceptives but cannot access them and most of the deaths relating to unwanted pregnancy could be prevented by family planning, contraceptive access and safe abortion services. Marie Stopes provides all of these services through its international programs, but as a recent report from the Guttmacher Institute clearly explained, without a global doubling in aid funding specifically for maternal health and family planning services, the goal of improving maternal health is unlikely to be achieved. If aid funding was doubled and if the need for maternal and family planning services was fulfilled then maternal deaths could be reduced by 70%, the deaths of over 1.6 million newborn babies could be averted and unsafe abortion would reduce by 73% thereby reducing the number of women needing life-saving medical care for unsafe abortion complications. Global commitment to the Millennium Development Goals is vital and none more so than Goal Five, as maternal health cannot continue to be seen as a development issue separate from hunger, poverty or economic burdens. Goal Five will only be achieved if the value and importance of women is placed where it rightfully belongs – at the heart of all the other challenges surrounding it. To learn more about how Marie Stopes’ work is impacting on Goal Five visit our campaign website at www.fivebyfifteen.org and watch videos, read blogs and learn more about how we ar improving maternal health.  |
