RCN joins the global campaign to reduce maternal deaths
The RCN has signed up to the global maternal mortality campaign, headed by the former Prime Minister's wife, Sarah Brown. The RCN will be joining with more than 50 organisations across the world who all share the aim of reducing the levels of maternal mortality.
Every minute of every day, a woman dies of pregnancy related complications, totalling more than half a million women each year. During 2008, significant steps were taken towards reducing maternal mortality and towards achieving the necessary improvements in health services in developing countries. But overall progress on maternal mortality has lagged severely behind Millennium Development Goal targets.
As part of the RCN's commitment to the campaign, we are asking members to email the Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, to urge him to keep the issue of maternal mortality high on the agenda of the next G8 Summit meeting in July.
To show your support for the campaign please complete the email below. Suggested text has been created for you, but please do feel free to add or amend the content should you wish.
To learn more about the maternal mortality campaign, go to the White Ribbon Alliance website.
Many thanks for your support for the campaign.
Suggested email
For your convenience, you can open the suggested email in your email client.
To: enquiry@dfid.gov.uk
CC: kwoods@whiteribbonalliance.org
Subject: FAO Douglas Alexander
Dear Mr Alexander,
As a champion for many years on maternal health in poor countries, we really hope that you are taking every opportunity, in the run up to the G8 Summit, to lobby Development Ministers and Heads of State to explicitly recognise that Millennium Development Goal 5 is the most off-track and therefore demands urgent attention and additional resources.
As you know, it is imperative that we act now to prevent the millions of needless deaths of women in pregnancy and childbirth.
We strongly urge you to pick up the phone to your colleagues in the G8 countries and rally ministers to support this issue, and would really appreciate hearing how you get on.