CARE: More Work Needed on Maternal Health

ATLANTA (April 14, 2010) - CARE welcomes the news that global maternal deaths are declining, according to a new study released in the medical journal, The Lancet. This is encouraging news illustrates what CARE knows from experience: we can make significant improvements in maternal health and save women's lives.

Yet, we know much more work remains. Hundreds of thousands of women still die needlessly each year while pregnant or giving birth, and millions more are left with life-altering disabilities.

''We cannot become complacent because of these findings,'' said CARE's president and CEO, Dr. Helene Gayle. ''We know how to further improve these numbers: women must have access to life-saving interventions such as voluntary family planning, skilled care at birth, emergency obstetric and post partum care. We also need the financial resources and political will to continue to make progress.''

As a leading organization that fights global poverty by empowering women and girls, CARE has made reducing maternal mortality one of its top priorities. CARE works directly with women and communities, empowering them with services and information while affecting policies to ensure that safe pregnancy and birth are a basic human right.

For example, CARE advanced a 10-year program in nine states in India – one of the largest nongovernmental organization public health programs in the world – to strengthen the quality and coverage of maternal and child health services. In Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia, CARE helped cut fatality rates in emergency obstetric care facilities by 30-50 percent. And in Cambodia, Peru and Uganda, CARE supported birth planning and referral networks that led to more women receiving lifesaving services.

Successful programs such as these must be expanded to reach more women in the developing world, where 99 percent of deaths from pregnancy and childbirth occur.

Dr. Gayle adds, "We have the tools to keep these numbers going down. We need the financial resources and political will to be successful. We must not stop because every mother matters."

About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve education, health and economic opportunity.