Resolution number: 03
Title:
Submitted by: Centerpartiet (Sweden), Folkpartiet (Sweden), D66 (The Netherlands) and Svenska Folkpartiet (Finland)
The Congress of the Liberal International, convened in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 20 October 2012
Notes that the target of the UN Millennium Development Goal on improving maternal health is to
1. Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
2. Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health
The progress to reach the UN MDG target for maternal health remains too slow. Pregnancy and child birth still remain a major health risk for lots of women around the world, even as most of maternal deaths in connection with birth are preventable.
Globally, an estimated 287 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2010. The largest proportions of such deaths are caused by post-delivery obstetric hemorrhage, eclampsia, sepsis and from complications of unsafe abortion;
Maternal mortality is higher for women living in rural areas and among poorer communities;
Some 220 million women preferring to delay or avoid pregnancy still lack access to safe and effective contraception;
The WHO estimates that satisfying the unmet need for family planning alone could cut the number of maternal deaths by almost a third.
Recognises that
Every casualty is a tragedy for the families and children affected but also devastating for the societies where they occur, not least financially;
The useless loss of lives, could be avoided by medical attention during pregnancy as well as information regarding methods of contraception to avoid or delay childbearing.
Calls on
All governments to provide the necessary funding for reproductive and maternal health programs worldwide; including interventions to reduce maternal death from unsafe abortions;
All governments to improve access to voluntary family planning, invest in health workers with midwifery skills, and ensure access to emergency obstetric care when complications arise;
All governments to incorporate into their foreign development strategies, measures to reduce maternal deaths and to focus on the poorest and most vulnerable populations;
All governments to incorporate into their SRHR and HIV/Aids strategies the MDG 5;
All governments to recognize the right of every woman to legal and safe abortion, including quality post-abortion care;
All governments to strengthen incomplete civil systems for registration of births, deaths and causes of death;
All governments to continued efforts to ensure equal access of women and girls to education, basic services, economic opportunities, health care services and gender equality reforms.
