Search is Powered by Google
Women's Health / Gynecology News

UNIFEM Report Calls For Increased Accountability To Improve Maternal Health, Curb Discrimination Worldwide

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 23 Sep 2008 - 7:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

A report released Thursday by the U.N. Development Fund for Women said that increased measures to ensure government accountability are necessary in order to meet the existing commitments to end widespread discrimination against women, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The biennial report, titled "Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009," points to five areas that need "strengthened accountability to women," including access to public services such as health care.

According to the report summary, pregnancy-related deaths in some parts of the world continue to be high even with the availability of well-known, low-cost care to prevent maternal mortality. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the state of maternal health care worldwide "dismal," adding, "To fix the problem ... all we need is to ensure that developing countries have what developed states provide as a minimum: prenatal health care and skilled attendants to help mothers survive the ordeal of labor."

The other four areas of focus in the report are politics and governance, economic opportunities, justice and the distribution of international assistance for development and security. It also aims to provide a "framework understanding accountability from a gender perspective." Ines Alberdi, executive director of UNIFEM, said that women "must be represented in much larger numbers in the decision making process" in order to "overcome the accountability crisis." The global average of women in parliamentary positions has risen 18.4% since 1998, but at that rate, the 40% to 60% "parity zone" goal will not be reached until 2045, the AP/Globe reports.

The report's release comes a week before the ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly that will include a special meeting about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, which include improving maternal health, eradicating extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education and promoting gender equality by 2015 (Lederer, AP/Boston Globe, 9/18).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2008 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.




Customized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Home About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Links Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Contact Us
Urology
ADHD Autism Diabetes

add medical news today to your facebook

medical news gadget

Add to Google


developers
website gadget code
website news code
medical news rss feed links


customize your homepage


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Wrong Bra Can Damage Breasts, Say UK Experts
25 Jul 2008
UK experts on breast biomechanics said today that some women could be damaging their breasts by wearing the wrong bra, either because they don't realize it, or because they are too embarassed to wear the right bra for their size and shape...


Treating Postpartum Depression image Treating Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression affects anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of new moms. Thankfully, postpartum depression is an extremely treatable illness...

Talking with Your Doctor image Talking with Your Doctor

Talking with your doctor can sometimes be difficult. Good health care, however, depends on an open dialogue between patients and doctors...

View more videos...