Supporting Women's Health with the Global MOMS Act

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Back in June, I signed a Care2 petition supporting the Global MOMS Act which is designed to reduce global maternal mortality.

Implementation of MDG No. 5 Maternal Health would actually help stabilize our planet's population. It would also help to ensure economic vitality in our future, presuming we also fulfill the other of the 7 Millennium Development Goals.

As Kayla from the Care2 ThePetitionSite tells us:

No woman should have to put her life or health at risk during pregnancy or childbirth, and all new borns should have a healthy start in life. The Global MOMS Act will help countless mothers worldwide get access to quality health care services and reduce maternal mortality.

The term Maternal Death should become an oxymoron. Currently, they are are petitioner 12,857 and they are trying to reach 20,000. The bill seems to be going nowhere fast so needs all the help it can get. There doesn't seem to be any great amount of coverage by the main stream media.

Tell your members of Congress to support the Global MOMS Act and fight for women's health around the world. »

I did and got a response from one of them though it was not the one that is running for re-election and it was from the wrong part of the Congress .

Dear Mr. Dowling

Thank you for writing to express your support for the "Improvements in Global Maternal and Newborn Health Outcomes while Maximizing Successes Act" (Global MOMS Act) (H.R. 5268). I appreciate hearing your views on this pending legislation, and welcome the opportunity to respond.

Like you, I believe that the United States must continue to lead international efforts to improve maternal and child health care and reduce child mortality rates worldwide. During my tenure in the Senate I have worked hard to ensure that international maternal and child welfare programs are adequately funded. For example, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I supported the $7.8 billion included in the fiscal year 2010 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Act (Public Law111-117) for the Global Health and Child Survival Account, which funds programs to provide nutritional support and vaccines to women and children. Further, I coauthored a letter to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH) requesting that the Committee support full funding for the President's fiscal year 2011 international affairs budget request of $58.5 billion, which includes funding to directly improve the health, nutrition, sanitation, and educational needs of women and children worldwide.

As you may know, the "Global MOMS Act" is pending consideration by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and at this time, there is no companion bill in the Senate. Please know that I will continue to do my best to ensure that child health and welfare programs receive the funding they deserve, and be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should this legislation come before me in the Senate.

Again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will continue to write on matters of importance to you. Should you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Related articles by Zemanta

• CARE Celebrates the Introduction of the Global MOMS Act in U.S. House of Representatives (prnewswire.com)
• Christy Turlington: Every Mother Counts (huffingtonpost.com)
• A new role for Africans in global maternal health (one.org)
• International Groups Call for Collaboration in Use of Mobile Technology to Reduce Maternal and Newborn Mortality (prweb.com)

Reaching Out Helping Women Realize the Millennium Development Goals

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I received a request from Amnesty International requesting support for women in Sierra Leone. It fits in with 3 of the Millennium Development Goals 3. Gender Equity 4. Child Health 5. Maternal Health .

One in eight Sierra Leonean women die giving birth. Health care facilities are understaffed, lack basic equipment and medicines and are far from people's homes. Pregnant women and their families struggle to afford the costs of getting to a hospital and the costs of the care they would receive there.

• A higher proportion of women in Sierra Leone die in childbirth and pregnancy than almost anywhere else in the world
  
• Women and their families are forced to negotiate and pay for equipment and medications, and provide their own food and water, while they're in a health facility, at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives
  
• Most people live far away from a medical facility and cannot afford transportation costs to a hospital or doctor

So I signed the letter the following letter to help make sure that no more lives are cut short. Urge Sierra Leone's government to make maternal health a priority.

Dear President Koroma,

I am very distressed to hear of the high risks that women in Sierra Leone face in pregnancy and childbirth. I understand that more women in Sierra Leone die during childbirth than almost anywhere else in the world.

I respectfully urge you to make every effort to guarantee the health and well-being of pregnant women. Access to maternal health care services would be improved by allocating more money to health within the budget, by addressing the mismanagement of resources, by ensuring hospitals are better supplied and medical staff paid adequate salaries and by providing women and girls with information about their health and reproductive rights.

It is your duty as President to ensure that the right to life and the right to health of all Sierra Leonean women are respected and protected. The government of Sierra Leone should ensure that costs are not a barrier to essential health services, including emergency obstetric care and other reproductive health services.

Yours sincerely,
Brian Dowling

What would be even better is empowering women to help themselves. The story and video below provide two examples, One from the Stand Up Take Action Campaign and one from Care. It is only natural that I use it in a blogging post as this year the Stand Up Take Action End Poverty Now! event, taking place on October, 16th is intended to give a clear focus on holding governments accountable for improving the status of women and their rights.

Kenyan Women Use ‘Stand Up’ to Stop Harassment, Fight for Maternal Health By Monica Omollo

“Stand Up provided a platform for me to bring together the voices of rural women to speak out about issues affecting them,” she said. “It provides an opportunity to empower rural women and ensure that they understand that they have the power to change their current circumstances through advocacy.”Monica organized the first-ever public anti-poverty rally in the Nyanza province, about 300 km outside Nairobi. The event was presided over by Ida Odinga, the wife of current Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.“The rally was considered unusual because most public rallies in this area have been political and hosted by politicians looking for votes,” she said. “The public was therefore very happy that we were out to find common solutions for their problems.”

Take a Stand Against Poverty by Investing in Women to Save the World

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This year's actions taking a stand against poverty are also focusing on women's issues. According to the Stand Up and Take Action event on 16 taking place through 18 October 2009.

This year, Stand Up will once again provide an energetic, high impact platform for people to raise the profile of MDG- related issues relevant to their region, country or community. However, this year Stand Up will begin on October 16th, World Food Day, and on this one day the focus on food security and on hunger will be greater. As always, the policy demands will be determined at the national and local levels by participants. But in recognition of the fact that many of the MDGs directly linked to the status of women are not doing well, campaigners are encouraged to give this year’s Stand Up a clear focus on holding governments accountable for improving the status of women and their rights.

In honor of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, CARE is encouraging us to stand in solidarity with poor and marginalized women around the world.

Two steps, first:

VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

In July, a large bipartisan group of senators introduced the GROWTH (Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive) Act; if passed, it will revolutionize the way U.S. foreign aid is directed.

The GROWTH Act promotes the economic empowerment of women and proposes concrete steps that the United States can take to play a positive role in improving the lives of the world's poorest women and their families. In short, this bill will create a chance to lift up the 1 billion people in the world who live on less than a $1.25 a day.

Please join by sending a personalized messageto your own senators.

Step two, learn more by reading:

"Half the Sky" shares poignant tales of women's struggles and triumphs in the face of poverty and discrimination. Through the compelling stories, the authors brilliantly illustrate the connections between women's empowerment and social and economic progress.

The work of Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn has been featured in the New York Times.

Investing in women to save the world

Half the work force of many developing nations is marginalized because of their gender, write Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Yet microfinance lenders and other nonprofits are hoping to change that by focusing their efforts on women, helping them start businesses and receive education that can transform their whole communities. The New York Times, (8/17)

Start a conversation with your book club, women's group, alumni chapter or family and friends about the challenges and opportunities women and girls face, or particpate in a blogging action with BloggersUnite with STAND UP and TAKE ACTION against Poverty and The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and take action together with CARE!

Support Women and Girls around the Globe!

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This weekend, despite being the Fourth of July, was a matter of three's. I received three requests for support for issues involving Millennium Development Goal 3. Gender Equity. I was able to get a mention in each of the campaigns about Stand Up Take Action's focus this year on holding governments accountable for improving the status of women and their rights. Stand Up Take Action will be focusing on improving maternal mortality or hunger and nutritional status for women and girls in poor countries. The campaigns below focus on some of the other critical issues that must be faced if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals at the most basic level, family.

The Change.org Team in partnership with friends at the United Nations Foundation wrote me about the Afghan Women Empowerment Act introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Young women and girls account for one-eighth of the world's population. And even though many are the primary caregivers and breadwinners in their household -- most still do not enjoy even basic human rights.

This situation is especially acute in Afghanistan, where despite efforts by the U.S. government, the United Nations, and others to improve the lives of women and girls, many still lack access to basic health care and schools. Many face violence and intimidation, daily. And Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

You can ensure these basic rights for the women of Afghanistan by asking your senator to support The Afghan Women Empowerment Act introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). This bill is critical as the maternal death rate for Afghan women is tragically high -- with one mother dying for every 56 births -- because it provides equipment, medical supplies and other assistance to health care facilities to reduce maternal and infant mortality. The bill also funds programs to protect women and girls against sexual and physical abuse, abduction, trafficking, exploitation, and includes emergency shelters for women and girls who face danger from violence.

They also sent me an invitation to make the pledge "to Support H.R. 1410: Newborn, Child, and Mother Survival Act of 2009 that was originated from the Hunger Site".

Every year, more than 9 million children die from preventable and treatable diseases, and more than 536,000 women die from pregnancy and birth-related causes around the globe. These deaths can be prevented if health services are provided to parts of the world where they are most needed. This is a good investment: ensuring not only the survival but the good health of women and children now means reduced health costs in the future and higher productivity in communities.

Care asked me to send a letter to my Senate representatives asking them to take immediate action and co-sponsor the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009.

60 million girls around the world are married before the age of 17 -- many to men more than twice their age or older? Child marriage is a human rights violation that puts young girls at risk and keeps them mired in poverty. When a girl is forced to marry at a young age, it diminishes her chance at an education, endangers her health and puts her at increased risk of lifelong poverty. Young brides are more likely to become young mothers, and girls under the age of 15 are five times more likely to die of childbirth than a woman in her 20s.

The Millennium Development Goals may be only eight in number, but they cover hundreds of different issues being addressed by thousands of people in hundreds of organizations. Makes sense to me that if we can create some cross-fertilizations regarding these challenges and issues, we should.