Back in September 2000, all the nations of the world signed on to the Millennium Goals, one of which was to reduce maternal deaths by ¾ by the year 2015.  At the time, everyone -- the leaders of something like 190 countries -- actually thought this a realistic goal. 

But here we are seven years later, almost half way there, and there's been no improvement on maternal health.  Progress is being made on the other goals but, still, every year half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth and that number hasn't changed in years. 

So, clearly, it's time to kick things into gear.  And there are some amazing people working hard to make this happen. 

One of them is Flavia Bustreo, the Deputy Director of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, based in Geneva.  I got to meet Flavia when she was in New York and then see her again at the Women Deliver conference in London and on both occasions was blown away by her.  Imagine an Italian woman with lots of flare, an easy smile, tons of focused energy, and an innate ability to bring people together around smart conversation, and that's Flavia.  Of course, you'd have to layer in that she's a physician with a few extra advanced degrees, she co-authored a big paper for the Women Deliver conference, and, oh, she speaks seven languages. 

Before meeting Flavia, I heard from more people than I can count that she was a go-to person on maternal health and she would completely get BlogHers Act (which she did, immediately).  What I also came to understand is the central role and potential of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, created just two years ago.  Here's a description of the Partnership -

A global health partnership launched in September 2005 (that) joins the maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) communities into an alliance of some 180 members to ensure that all women, infants and children not only remain healthy, but thrive.

 

... The Partnership … encourag(es) unified and effective approaches that promise greater progress than in the past. ...Members represent partner countries, UN and multilateral agencies, nongovernmental organizations, health professional associations, bilateral donors and foundations, and academic and research institutions.

In other words, the Partnership is pulling the key players together so they can coordinate their activities and get on the same page.  No small task, and crucial to making real headway. 

We're looking forward to working with Flavia as BlogHers Act kicks off.

Another person who has committed her life to this arena is Jill Sheffield, the founder of Family Care International, who organized the first Safe Motherhood conference in 1987 in Kenya which, according to The Lancet, "brought attention to the high number of maternal deaths and challenged the world to do something," and who organized the Women Deliver conference, attended by almost 2000 people. 

Fred Sai, the chairman of FCI said of Jill, "Over the past 20 years, Jill has shown such enthusiasm, leadership, dedication and personal sacrifice to the cause of the Safe Motherhood Initiative that no one else can match.  It is no exaggeration to say that but for her, the initiative would have been consigned to history as another of those international fads that come and go."

Meeting Jill in New York was a huge thrill. She is an awe-inspiring leader and communicator who has focused so many people's attention on this issue, in particular on the economic reasons for the world to pay attention to maternal health.  She believes that improving maternal health around the world will improve the health of the globe, and building the political will to make this happen will take all of us. We're with you, Jill.

If you'd like to read other bloggers on the topic, you might want to check out these: Jill Sheffield, Katie Porter, and Anika Rahman.

Emily McKhann
Website: The Motherhood
Blog: Been There
BlogHer Contributing Editor: BlogHers Act