Jhpiego Honors Women Around The World - International Women's Day, March 8, 2008

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 26 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Women's lives matter. Every year at this time, we celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world. While there have been many great advancements, we can not lose sight of the struggles of millions of women who lack access to basic health care. Globally, hundreds of thousands of women die every year as the result of giving birth as well as various preventable diseases such as cervical cancer, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. We know- healthy mothers build healthy families and foster stable communities.

As an international health affiliate of The Johns Hopkins University, Jhpiego works in 50 developing countries to prevent and treat the conditions causing the vast majority of maternal deaths. While the HIV/AIDS pandemic rages on across Africa and Asia, diseases receiving less attention, such as malaria and cervical cancer, are killing women in staggering numbers. Consider these statistics from the World Health Organization:

- Every minute at least one woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth - that means 529,000 women die each year.

- For every woman who dies in childbirth, around 20 more suffer injury, infection or disease - approximately 10 million women each year.

- An estimated 1,000,000 children are left motherless each year. These children are 10 times more likely to die within two years of their mothers' death.

- Every two minutes at least one woman dies from cervical cancer - this translates into 500,000 new cases and 275,000 deaths due to cervical cancer each year, 85% of which occur in developing countries.

- Two hundred thousand infants and 10,000 mothers die as a result of malaria infection each year.

It takes innovative approaches to save these women's lives. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has made major strides in addressing these issues through its ACCESS program (a Jhpiego administered global program to improve maternal and newborn health). Important collaborations with our colleagues and experts in these countries have made a difference. But it will also take the resources of global corporations and foundations to join us in addressing these most tragic of issues. As our world economy becomes ever more interrelated, the economic interests of multinational corporations in low resource settings become even more important.

In my travels on behalf of Jhpiego, I have been privileged to visit with women in the most vulnerable regions of countries such as Afghanistan, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Philippines and many others. I am inspired by their determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and provide bright futures for their families. It is my hope that on this International Women's Day those of us who are the most fortunate find ways to save these women. Our global future depends on it.

The Johns Hopkins University

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