Leaders pledge to help end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths within a generation

By improving access to essential sexual and reproductive health services – including voluntary family planning and safe delivery care – preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths could be eliminated within a generation. This was the central message of a high-level event hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at UN Headquarters yesterday, where donors pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the Every Woman Every Child movement.

In particular, empowering women and girls to make their own healthcare decisions could save the lives of countless mothers, newborns and children, the assembled leaders said.

“When the individual is capable of making their own decisions… you get totally different development for women and children,” Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg told the dignitaries, leaders and health experts assembled at the event.

To keep reading the article, please click here

SOURCE & COPYRIGHT: UNFPA