Mother's Day marks call for end to pregnancy deaths worldwide (Enfield Liberal Democrats)

Enfield Liberal Democrats <info@enfieldlibdems.org.uk>

Mother's Day marks call for end to pregnancy deaths worldwide

March 20, 2009 2:32 PM
Originally published by Sarah Ludford MEP

Ahead of Mother's Day, London's Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford has signed up in support of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safer Motherhood.

She has put her name to an open letter to global leaders calling for action to be taken to prevent the avoidable deaths of hundreds of thousands of women during pregnancy every year.

The letter calls for the issue to be put at the top of the political agenda and highlights the need for it to be addressed at this year's G8 summit of the richest developed countries including the UK, and the UN Secretary General's Millennium Development Goals summit which will review progress in lifting billions of people out of poverty and life-threatening ill-health.

Sarah Ludford said:

"Pregnancy always carries some health risks but it is shocking that every minute of every day, a woman dies in pregnancy. That's half a million women dying each year. This statistic is all the more harrowing in that 80% of these deaths are avoidable."

"It's dismaying so little progress has been made in 20 years. That's why I've added my name to the call for this to be made a top political priority for world leaders. It is vital that further resources are directed to countries which have the biggest problems with pregnancy and mortality."