17 February 2008
Addis Ababa — The United Nations Population Fund UNFPA said on Friday it was aiming at creating a new thematic fund of $500 Million to reduce the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth in 75 countries.
The UN agency said the fund would encourage developed countries and private sponsors to contribute more to saving women's lives.
The statement did not mention which countries would be benefited from the fund of priority.
Every minute a woman dies due to complications in pregnancy or childbirth, adding up to half a million women dying every year.
Another 10-15 million women suffer serious or long-lasting illnesses or disabilities.
"No woman should die giving life," said UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid in the statement sent to the Daily Monitor yesterday. "To have a healthy society, you have to have healthy mothers." In many countries, however, progress in maternal health has been slow, UNFPA said.
It noted that in some, the situation has actually deteriorated over the last 20 years.
According to the fund, the reason is insufficient political will and inadequate resources, as women's health is often pushed off the agenda in favor of other priorities," said the statement.
Ms. Obaid continued: "It is critical to invest in women if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We urge countries to dedicate more resources to improving national health systems, training skilled birth attendants and promoting family planning. Millions of deaths and disabilities could be prevented, if every woman had access to reproductive health services." Improving maternal health and reducing maternal deaths is at the heart of Millennium Development Goal number 5.
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