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Universal Access Project

The Universal Access Project’s mission is to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal to provide universal access to reproductive health care by 2015.

Today, roughly 222 million women lack the simple luxury in their lives of family planning services. To provide such services would not only help these women; it would improve overall global health, strengthen communities, decrease death rates of mothers and newborns and help alleviate global poverty.

The choice and the freedom to decide if and when to bear a child belong in the category of basic human rights. Providing easy access to contraceptives for women in third-world countries ensures that everyone may enjoy the same rights, and is predicted to reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies worldwide from 7.5 million to 22 million.

The Universal Access Project is chiefly focused on informing and mobilizing U.S. policy makers to support international reproductive health as a major element of U.S. foreign development assistance.

Although often overlooked in the shadow of seemingly more important and immediate issues, universal access to reproductive health care deserves attention. Studies conducted in Zambia have shown that one dollar invested in family planning saves four dollars in other health related issues over time; it also reduces newborn deaths by 44%.

Annually, about 350,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications, making it the leading cause of death for women in developing countries. By providing them with family planning options, this number may be reduced by one-third – over 100,000 deaths prevented each year.

A website has been created in affiliation with the Universal Access Project – WhyWeCare.org – which compiles essays by 15 prominent leaders from different fields across the globe who support the initiative. Their stories are personal, touching and motivational, giving readers an accurate and related sense of urgency in regards to this project.

Although 2015 is a little more than a year away, founders of the project and members of the UN Foundation remain confident in its future success. Since the initiative’s start in 2008, U.S. funding for family planning has witnessed a 30% increase.

In the words of CNN news network founder and philanthropist Ted Turner (who is also a contributor to WhyWeCare.org), “Complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death of women in their reproductive years, killing an average of 1,000 women per day. That number is just plain unacceptable in this day and age.”

– Natalia Isaeva

Sources: UN Foundation, K4Health, WhyWeCare.org
Photo: The Trenches

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MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health

MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health
This is the fifth in a series of posts focusing on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. There are eight interconnected MDGs that were agreed upon by over 180 countries worldwide. These goals are to be achieved by 2015 and are based on a shared pledge to improve the social, economic, and political lives of all people. Two years out from the goal date, it’s time to consider how far we have come, as well as how much work we have left to do.

The fifth MDG is to improve maternal health. This goal comes in two parts:

  • Cut the maternal mortality ratio by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015
  • Achieve universal access to reproductive health

Significant progress has been made on both fronts. In 2010, the maternal mortality ratio was 47% of the 1990 figure. Three regions (Eastern Asia, Northern Africa, and Southern Asia) have already reached the two-thirds reduction goal, and progress has been made in every region. However, women in sub-Saharan Africa still have a 1 in 39 chance of dying from pregnancy complications, and improvements in many regions will need to accelerate substantially if the MDG is to be met by 2015.

Work towards universal access to reproductive health has made encouraging headway as well. Health care for pregnant women in developing countries is on the rise, with antenatal care increasing by almost 20% between 1990 and 2011. This reflects an admirable commitment to women’s health care in developing regions. In a reflection of changing cultural norms, the number of teenage mothers is decreasing in most developing regions, though progress on this front has slowed in recent years.

Despite the progress that has been made thus far, maternal mortality still bears the highest disparity between developed and developing countries, with 99% of maternal deaths occurring in poorer nations. The maternal mortality ratio in developing areas remains 15 times higher than in developed regions. This severe inequality points to the undeniable connection between poverty and maternal health.

The primary cause of maternal deaths in the world today is the lack of skilled health care before, during, and after delivery. Women in developing areas are seeking maternal care at an increasing rate. It is therefore absolutely vital that the care they receive is of excellent quality. Doctors must be trained, facilities must be built, and supplies must be provided in order to save the lives of these women and their children.

Women and their partners are also seeking family planning services in higher volumes. Meanwhile, the supply of these services is increasing only minimally. Family planning must be prioritized in order to meet this need. It has been estimated that fulfilling the unmet demand for family planning could cause the number of maternal mortalities to plummet by one third. Impressive progress in this area was made in the 1990s when contraceptive use in developing countries increased by almost 10%. However, this level of progress was not matched in the 2000s.

Improvements in contraceptive use, especially in developing areas, would reduce one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death: unsafe abortions. Approximately 13% of pregnancy-related deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortions, which kill 68,000 women annually. In another example of the disparity between developed and developing nations, 97% of unsafe abortions occur in poorer countries. Preventing unsafe abortions, both by increasing knowledge and use of contraceptives and by providing adequate health care in developing countries, is absolutely necessary as we work towards improving maternal health.

The quality of maternal health care will also rise when women are more empowered. Women worldwide are often constrained by cultural norms that leave them disenfranchised. They suffer physical and sexual violence at alarmingly high rates and are often unable to hold positions of power in society. The appalling state of maternal health in many countries can largely be attributed to societal injustices against women. When such countries work towards gender equality, they will also improve maternal health.

It is important, however, to remember that maternal health isn’t just a women’s issue. Poor sexual and reproductive health is a significant contributing cause to poverty worldwide and can prevent victims and their families from fully participating in society. Furthermore, improving maternal health entails more than just providing skilled birthing assistance. Women are less likely to have pregnancy complications if they do not have sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and if they have not undergone female genital mutilation. Therefore, improving maternal health necessitates the enhancements of society as a whole. These include increasing the general public’s knowledge of and access to sexual and reproductive health care, including contraceptives and treatment for STIs.

There are copious reasons to improve developing nations’ maternal health. Poor maternal health is a human rights violation, killing roughly 250,000 women each year. It harms countries’ economies and social fabric by preventing people from fully participating in society. It contributes significantly to poverty. It contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequality. And, as we have seen, improvements can clearly be made. The world has made so much progress when it comes to maternal health. These achievements should be used as a springboard, inspiring us to keep working towards the fifth MDG up to and beyond 2015.

– Katie Fullerton

Sources: UN UN Economic and Social Affairs WHO MDG5
Photo: Flickr

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Worst Countries in Which to Give Birth

worst-countries-to-give-birth-in-borgen-project-rural-poverty_opt
Many of us spent some time in May being thankful for our mothers. Something else that we may not think to be thankful for is the healthy and sanitary conditions mothers were able to give birth in. For women living in developing countries, this is a huge concern for pregnant women. One country, however, has proven to be the worst place to give birth: Chad.

This statistic was identified by the organization, Save the Children, in their annual Mother’s Index. The group uses an index that includes a woman’s risk of death during childbirth or pregnancy. Chad was deemed the worst place for a mother to give birth because 1 in 15 mothers are at high risk of dying while pregnant or in child labor.

A contributing factor to these startling statistics is that women get married and become pregnant at a young age. 50% of girls are mothers by the age of eighteen. These girls are at risk because their bodies are not fully developed enough to safely experience pregnancy and childbirth. Malnutrition is also a concern for mothers in Chad. High levels of poverty make healthy diets unattainable for many mothers.

The second worst country for women to give birth in is Somalia. This country is the highest ranking in not providing proper care during pregnancy, with 74% of women not receiving adequate care. Somalia also is barely behind Chad in terms of the risk of death during pregnancy and childbirth. In Somalia, one in sixteen women are at risk. The newborn child is also at danger when it is born in Somalia. About eighteen newborns die per 1,000 live births.

Other countries that are ranked in worst places to have a child are Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic, Mali, Nigeria and Guinea. In order to improve childbirth conditions in these developing countries, it is necessary to invest in health systems and the training of health employees, midwives and other who may assist in the birth process. With these improvements in healthcare, more women will survive and be able to celebrate Mother’s Day with their children.

– Mary Penn

Source: Devex, Save the Children
Photo: Global Giving

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Expanding Contraceptive Access in Africa

Expanded Contraceptive Access
At the Women Deliver 2013 conference, one of the topics discussed was expanding contraceptive access in developing countries in Africa. The session was led by Melinda Gates and United Nations Population Fund, and the speakers discussed ways to reach women to create a strategy that would provide them greater access to forms of birth control. Melinda Gates explained that improving access to birth control would not only improve the women’s lives, it would also make their children healthier and would allow for a thriving family.

Also at the session, several political leaders discussed some of the success stories of implementing birth control access. Countries such as Senegal, the Philippines, Zambia, Indonesia, and Malawi have all taken the initiative to promote progress in the field of family planning and have had great success. Senegal’s budget for their national family planning program has doubled since November 2012. After 15 years, the Philippines was finally able to pass the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, Zambia created their first family planning program, Indonesia increased funding available for contraceptives, and Malawi also strengthened their family planning program.

The leaders explained that these success stories should be proof that expanding contraceptive access is doable and can save lives, and it’s also very cost-effective. Not only will birth control help improve the lives of the current generation of mothers and babies, implementing a long-term and sustainable plan will improve the lives of the next generations as well.

To ensure that the efforts will remain strong, the Global Poverty Project’s CEO Hugh Evans has announce the It Takes Two campaign, which encourages young men and women to support family planning programs and services, as well as for them to make sure their government continues to support the programs.

– Katie Brockman

Source: allAfrica

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DRC Ranks Last in Maternal Health

congo
Happy Mother’s Day?  Well, maybe not in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was recently named the worst place to be a mom according to a report done by Save the Children. The DRC took the unwanted ranking from Niger and for the first time in the 14 years since the report has been published, sub-Saharan Africa took up the bottom ten places.

The London-based charity’s “State of the World’s Mothers” report compared 176 countries in terms of maternal health, child mortality, education and levels of women’s income and political status.  The results were staggering and showed massive gaps in maternal health. A woman or girl in the DRC has a 1 in 3o chance of dying from maternal causes, including childbirth, whereas a women in Finland faces a 1 in 12,200 risk. The report cited the poor health of mothers as well as low access to health care  as possible causes for the high rates of infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

Save the Children is calling for an investment to close the gap. They cite the need for nations to invest in mothers and children and to provide better and more accessible maternal care.  Women must have access to education and political standing as well as high quality health and child care.

Much progress is being made in developing countries and sub-Saharan Africa; the study pointed to four life-saving products that could drastically change the current state of affairs. Those four products are:

1. Corticosteroid injections to women in preterm labor.

2. Resuscitation devices to save babies who do not breathe at birth.

3. Chlorhexidine cord cleansing to prevent umbilical cord infections.

4. Injectable antibiotics to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia.

Simple devices and measures like these have the potential to give mothers and infants in countries like the DRC a better chance at a full, healthy life.  It is time to continue the progress being made and even the odds for mothers in the DRC and all across sub-Saharan Africa.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: Global Post

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UNICEF’s Global Education First Initiative

UNICEF's Global Education First Initiative
Josephine Bourne is the Associate Director of UNICEF. She sat down for an interview with the Inter Press Service to give her thoughts on the upcoming meetings to be held in Washington D.C. on the Global Education First Initiative.

The meetings will bring together Ministers in Finance from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, South Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. The topic of conversation will focus on sustainable solutions between the private sector and civil society organizations. The meetings will center around the importance of education on the global economy.

Bourne believes that the initiative will provide an increased pressure for political commitment in the field of education.  She stated that UNICEF would like to continue to work towards ensuring education for the most vulnerable children, particularly girls, with disabilities as well as children living in conflict territories.

When Bourne was asked if there was one thing in particular that greatly diminished a child’s opportunity to obtain an education, she bluntly stated that being born into poverty as a girl in a rural area is a huge disadvantage. The longer a girl is able to attend school, the fewer children she will have – an incredibly important factor in poverty reduction.

Around the world, girls who have seven years of education have 2.2 fewer children than those that do not. When those girls have children, those children will be healthier and better educated, helping to lower the poverty percentage in their given communities. Bourne believes that this environment leads to economic growth, more female leaders, and more sustainable development.

In the interview, Bourne was also asked about gender equality and education. She said that girls from disadvantaged groups are oftentimes the most marginalized because of the special risks that could take them out of school. She believes that there is serious inequity in schools around the world.

Women’s education and empowerment have been a popular theme in the media lately with the recent release of the documentary “Girl Rising”. While this is a very positive thing, Bourne was quick to note, however, that the increased media attention to gender and education inequality, as well as the empowerment that comes with it are not enough to bring about social change. In her opinion, in order to create lasting change, we need the complete commitment of all duty bearers; from organizations such as UNICEF and the UN to parents and communities; to be involved in the promotion of the human right of education for all children around the world.

– Caitlin Zusy

Source: Inter Press Service
Photo: UNESCO

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Largest Global Anti-Poverty Organization

Largest Global Anti-Poverty Organization

BRAC assists “138 million of the poorest people in nine countries in Asia and Africa,” yet few people have ever heard of the global anti-poverty organization. BRAC began as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee but has expanded to multiple countries.  Though BRAC is no longer an acronym, it has become a synonym for progress.

The organization works to alleviate poverty through empowerment. It is the largest global anti-poverty organization. BRAC provides opportunities for self-improvement, such as self-employment and financial aid. Its economic programs created 8.5 million self-employment opportunities, and BRAC has issued over $5 billion in micro-loans.

Education is key to mitigating poverty in future generations. The organization created over 66,000 schools to meet the needs of primary and pre-primary children. To date, the schools have graduated over 6.1 million students.

Furthermore, the organization itself employs over 125,000 people in Asia and Africa. Many of the employees are first time job holders, and BRAC teaches them necessary skills.  “As a job-creator and employer of scale and diversity, we teach people the basics of customer service, and how to be productive employees,” said Susan Davis, President and CEO, BRAC USA.

BRAC engages diasporas for economic and social development. The organization realizes the value of local people.  Instead of Americans instructing people on how to improve their communities, the organization starts by training people from the country in need.  After successfully completing the program, trainers return home with new skill sets.  These individuals communicate their success stories and encourage others to strive for better lives.

One of BRAC’s unique strengths involves creating new markets.  The organization trains 100,000 health and other promoters to achieve self-employment.  Promoters work with “legal services (property rights), poultry and livestock services, and energy services.”  The jobs vary based on the specific needs of the communities.  Each position interacts with people to teach vital subjects, such as agriculture, family planning, and disease prevention.

The organization “has remained relatively unknown in the West…because it developed on the local level in the poorest, most remote communities of Bangladesh.”  It originated in communities and developed gradually.  Fazle Hasan Abed created BRAC “when he was overwhelmed by the sight of death and extreme poverty among refugees returning to Bangladesh after the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh.” He fled the corporate life and employed all of his resources to launch BRAC.  Today, his vision has improved the lives of millions of people.  Talk about a visionary.

– Whitney M. Wyszynski

Source: Fast Company