Renew your promise to end maternal mortality - Clinton

By Hope Mafaranga

Former United Stated of America first Lady Hillary Clinton has called upon governments to commit funds to the health sector in order to achieve the health Millennium Goals four, five and six.

Goal Four focuses on reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, Goal Five targets to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters by 2015, and universal access to reproductive health,  while goal number six aims at combating HIV/AIDS , malaria and other diseases.

Clinton was addressing delegates from over 145 nations at the 3rd Women Deliver Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She noted that developing countries are still lagging behind on these goals.

“We have not reached the goals yet 2015 that we set for ourselves is already knocking on our doors. It too critical that governments renew their promises and deliver for girls and women,” Clinton said in a recorded message.

Clinton also urged governments to educate a girl child and empower women in order to end the suffering women go through. Clinton said that in most developing countries, girls are the last to be sent to schools, hence increase the school dropouts and leads to early marriage.

Under the theme “Invest in Girls and Women – It Pays, Clinton said that girls and women still do not access to education, jobs and good opportunities like their male counterparts.

She noted that countries like Rwanda have achieved significant success in maternal mortality by proving better sexual and reproductive health services, incentives to women and men involvement.

She however noted that some developing countries still face challenges in drugs supplies, health facility accessibility and lack of human resources.

“We must achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for everyone. If women cannot plan their fertility, they cannot plan their lives. All women should have a choice on how many children they want to have and when to have them, “she said

Jeni Klugman the Director Gender and Development, World Bank said that women contribute the biggest work force in the world but little is invested in them because parents see girls as income generating activities and not paying attention of empowering them.

Klugman said that because women are not empowered, a large number of married women do not own property in matrimonial homes and have no say in their households.

“Education is the best weapon for women to face the world, it brings awareness of more things so that women can make better informed choices,” she added.

Lakshmi Puri, the Acting Director UN Women said that governments should work hard to increase family planning products at village level so that women can easily access them.

“If every village can have a coco-cola product, why can’t we have family planning products in at village level?  We must ask governments to implement their commitments towards women and girls,” she said.

Prime minister of Malaysia Najib Tun Abdul Razak said that, early childhood education is the foundation and best investment each government can invest in women.

“Investing in girls and women is not only the right thing to do, it is also good for the economy and good for society,” Razak said.