Do More to Save Mothers' Lives, South Asian Lawmakers Urge

KATHMANDU—Reducing maternal deaths should be a higher priority for South Asian governments, agreed parliamentarians, policy makers and journalists from the region at a conference here today on reproductive health advocacy.

Participants shared experiences in calling for better, adequately supplied and staffed services for pregnancy and childbirth, family planning and HIV prevention. They then adopted a declaration outlining actions needed to accelerate progress.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, organized the conference in collaboration with the Asian Forum for Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFFPD). The aim was to help participants make a stronger case for increased national spending on reproductive health services and better coordination.

Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav opened the three-day event. Pakistan’s Minister of Population Welfare, Firdous Ashiq Awan, took part along with members of Parliament, officials and media professionals from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Resource persons from four other Asian countries, UNFPA and the World Health Organization took part.

South Asia accounts for 188,000 maternal deaths each year, one third of the global total. Women in this region are 200 times more likely to die in childbirth than women from developed countries. Progress has been slow in reducing maternal mortality, a target under Millennium Development Goal 5 on improving maternal heath.

Making family planning services more available could reduce deaths by a third. To achieve this, countries need to spend more on contraceptives and other essential supplies and effectively coordinate procurement and distribution.

“In many countries in the region, coverage for family planning and access to comprehensive reproductive health services and commodities is still inadequate,” the declaration notes.

Delegates called for, among other things: stronger national commitments to making family planning, skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care accessible to all; integration of reproductive health within national health strategies; and stepped-up efforts to train, deploy and retain midwives and other skilled health providers.

Contact Information:

In Kathmandu:
Anna Adhikari,
+977 5523988/880/682 ext. 60418
+977 9841377061
adhikari@unfpa.org

In Bangkok:
William A. Ryan
+66 89 897 6984
ryanw@unfpa.org