MDG5 is achievable – we know what to do.docVIP

Addis Call to Urgent Action for Maternal Health Maternal death and disability is one of the greatest moral, human rights and development challenges of our time and is the world’s largest health inequity. Ending the needless death and suffering of women from complications of pregnancy and childbirth and achieving MDG5 to improve maternal health will only happen if concerted action is taken in the remaining five years to 2015 to protect and fulfill everyone’s right to sexual and reproductive health. Together with the right comes the responsibility of men and boys to contribute to reduce gender inequalities and combat gender-based violence. Investing in the health and rights of women and girls is smart economics for families, communities and nations, especially during the financial crisis. This requires key measures to: Prioritize family planning, one of the most cost-effective development investments. If we ensure access to modern contraception, we can prevent up to 40% of maternal deaths. Make adolescents a priority. If we invest in adolescent health, education and livelihoods, we will accelerate progress. Strengthen health systems with sexual and reproductive health as a priority. If a health system can deliver for women, it is a strong health system that benefits all. We, participants at the High-level Meeting on Maternal Health in Addis Ababa on 26 October 2009, as representatives of government, civil society, the private sector and youth, have the collective means to save women from preventable death and disability. Propelled by the 2015 deadline of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Millennium Development Goals, we commit to urgent action, and call on all: Presidents and Ministers: To ensure that by the end of 2010, national and district health plans prioritize sexual and reproductive health, including maternal and newborn health, nutrition, family planning, STI/HIV prevention, and reproductive cancers; and make plans, bud