CARE Participates in Congressional Briefing Focused on Actions to Improve Maternal Health

Mary Ellen Stanton of USAID (L) with Dr. Helene D. Gayle of CARE. (2009 Allen Clinton/CARE) (L to R) Dr. Harshad Sanghvi of JHPIEGO, Theresa Shaver of White Ribbon Alliance, Mary Ellen Stanton of USAID and Dr. Helene D. Gayle of CARE. (2009 Allen Clinton/CARE) Dr. Samuel Adeniyi-Jones of the Office of Global Health Affairs. (2009 Allen Clinton/CARE) Dr. R.J. Simonds of the CDC Global AIDS Program. (2009 Allen Clinton/CARE)

On July 13, a congressional briefing and panel discussion took place on Strengthening Maternal Health in sub-Saharan Africa, sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs. Moderated by CARE President and CEO Dr. Helene Gayle, the briefing focused on solutions and key actions needed to prevent maternal deaths – the top killer of women and girls of reproductive age. The panel included representatives from three leading U.S. agencies having the most influence in maternal health programming as well as two leaders in global health and advocacy. In attendance were some 30 staff members from the Senate and House. Additionally, a host of 20 partner organizations expressed their support for this initiative. Below are some comments made by the experts during the panel discussion:

Dr. Helene D. Gayle, CARE president and CEO: "We have an enormous opportunity to solve a critical problem together. We have proven, effective and affordable solutions to reverse maternal death rates. But we're just getting started."

Mary Ellen Stanton, USAID senior reproductive health advisor: "We are not on track to meet MDG 5 [Millennium Development Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health] but that does not mean anything isn't happening. There are promising signs that maternal mortality is being reduced but we need to get more active and see a better use of services – all of which will be lifesaving."

Dr. Harshad Sanghvi, JHPIEGO medical director: "Today what we know are the things that work [to reduce maternal deaths]. What we haven't done is taken those programs to scale."

Theresa Shaver, executive director of the White Ribbon Alliance: "We need to hold governments accountable for their commitments. We are asking for a U.S. contribution of $1.3 billion. If we raise this it will improve the health of women and newborns globally and strengthen the capacity of health workers. If a woman survives childbirth we will have healthier communities.

Dr. Samuel Adeniyi-Jones, Africa region director, Office of Global Health Affairs: "We must declare maternal health an emergency. If we sit together and partner to make it a policy to invest in health systems and the components of health systems, I think we can produce significant results in a few years."

Dr. R. J. Simonds, CDC Global AIDS Program: "Now is the time to address this problem. These aren't rocket science issues. There are simply not enough facilities for women to have deliveries. The approach to human resources is critical as people start gaining access. This requires an interagency effort to improve systems horizontally for women and children."