Accelerating progress in achieving MDG 5: Trends and lessons from countries

What:
Side event to the Millennium Development Goal Summit focusing on maternal health and on trends and lessons learned from countries that have made strong progress in reducing maternal mortality.

When : Tuesday, September 21, 2010,  5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Where: Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017

Who:
• Kessetebrehan Admasu, Director General, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention,
Ministry of Health, Ethiopia
• Dr. K.C.S Malefho, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Botswana
• Dr. Sudha Sharma, Secretary of Health, Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal
• Professor Issifou Takpara, Minister of Health, Benin
• Heads of five UN agencies (The H4+: WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, World Bank and UNAIDS)

Why:
New UN data shows that maternal mortality has been reduced by over 30 per cent since 1990. While this achievement is notable, progress has been uneven and the current rate of improvement is not fast enough to reach Millennium Development Goal 5 on achieving maternal health by 2015. Countries that have demonstrated strong progress in improving maternal health, including Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia and Nepal, will discuss what strategies worked and what challenges still remain. The speakers will also discuss the strategic role of the United Nations agencies in supporting countries to achieve MDG 5.

About The H4+:
With five years to go until 2015, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank, as well as UNAIDS, in 2008 joined forces as Health 4+ (H4+) to support countries with the highest rates of maternal and newborn mortality, and accelerate progress in saving the lives and improving the health of women and their newborns. For more information: (link to leaflet/ or to event page).

Contact Information:
Jessica Malter
Email:  malter@unfpa.org
Tel:  +1 212 297 5190
Mobile:  +1 646 732 0047