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279398
Sat, 03/30/2013 - 07:12
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Women Delivers 2013: Invest In Women - It Pays

By Melati Mohd Ariff KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Invest in women-it pays! This is the message that Women Deliver, a global advocacy organisation, is spreading around the world, referring to maternal health - the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. According to the organisation, around 350,000 girls and women die from complications in pregnancies and childbirths every year. The same concern would be given prominence during the Women Deliver 2013 Conference, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 28-30. GLOBAL OPERATIVES Women Deliver is a global advocacy organisation that brings together voices from around the world to call for improved health and wellbeing of girls and women. Launched in 2007, Women Deliver works globally to generate political commitment and financial investments. Its main aim is to fulfill Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Number 5 - to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health. PARTICIPANTS More than 5,000 high-level participants from over 160 countries are expected to attend this third global conference, which will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC). The Conference Media Secretariat, in its press release made available to Bernama, stated that a number of influential leaders have confirmed their attendance. Amongst the would-be prominent speakers are Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates; Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of United Nations Women, Michelle Bachelet; Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark; and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Babatunde Osotimehin. GLOBAL PRIORITY According to the Conference Media Secretariat, besides ensuring continued investments in girls and women, the conference, on its second day, will also focus on the unmet needs for family planning. During the London Summit on Family Planning, held in July 2012, global leaders made a commitment to provide 120 million women in the world's poorest countries with access to contraception by 2020. The first day of the conference will delve largely on Women Deliver's keynote theme - investing in women - and the third day of the conference will focus on the post-2015 development framework. The plenary and other sessions will highlight progress of this pertinent issue since the summit. SHAPING FUTURES Dr Osotimehin of the UNFPA described the conference as a great opportunity to build on the tremendous momentum generated last year around reproductive health, especially during the London Summit on Family Planning. "Access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, age appropriate sexuality education and information and services will ensure that all women and girls have the power to shape their futures," she added. Jill Sheffield, Founder and President of Women Deliver, said now’s the time to ensure that girls and women are central pillars in the new development agenda as the 2015 MDG target date is just around the corner. "We have made incredible strides toward improving women's health and rights in recent years, and we cannot stop now. "Women Deliver 2013 will offer a powerful forum for ensuring that we continue to deliver for girls and women for years to come," she said. INTERESTING EVENTS According to the Media Secretariat, several activities have been planned in conjunction with the three-day conference. One such activity is the Minister's Forum, which will be organised by the UNFPA. The participating countries will include the 10 countries that have made commitments at the London Family Planning Summit, namely Ghana, Indonesia, India, Benin, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria. An exhibition, with more than 100 exhibitors, will also be held for the duration of the conference. OTHER ACTIVITIES Women Deliver will also showcase photographs taken by several award-winning photographers and organisational exhibits through the KLCC. Several organisations will launch new reports and publications at the conference, including World Bank reports on the economic case for investing in reproductive health. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, the Conference Secretariat will be organising site visits for a number of attendees, including the media. The site visits will be conducted a day before the conference. For more information on Women Deliver, please visit www.womendeliver.org. -- BERNAMA

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