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UN / MATERNAL HEALTH WRAP
STORY: UN / MATERNAL HEALTH WRAP
TRT: 1:57
SOURCE: UNTV / UNICEF / UNFPA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 APRIL 2010, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
2. Various shots, delegates at luncheon
3. Wide shot, beginning of press conference
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We are here because too many women die from pregnancy or childbirth related injuries.”
5. Cutaway, Margaret Chan, Director-General of World Health Organization
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister, Norway:
“Now Lancet published new figures which are indicating that we are also making progress on maternal health. If those figures prove to be correct than the picture has really changed.”
7. Cutaway, audience
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization:
“Basically we are seeing progress and it is correct to say that the progress is not enough. The progress is fragile. Some countries are making progress primarily India, China, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia. The list is longer than what I have said. But the UN has 192-193 countries. In the UN, you have 192 countries so we would like to see further progres in other countries.”
9. Wide shot, end of press conference
10. Wide shot, group photo of participants
FILE – UNICEF – 16 NOVEMBER 2008, BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN
11. Med shot, pregnant patient revealing her stomach for doctor
FILE – UNICEF – RECENT, GUNA DISTRICT, INDIA
12. Med shot, woman in hospital being examined by doctor
13. Close up, woman's face
14. Close up, doctor listening to the belly of pregnant woman
FILE – WORLD BANK - APRIL 2009, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
15. Various shots, malnourished neonates
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a Joint Action Plan in an urgent effort of reduce maternal and newborn deaths in childbirth at the UN headquarters today (14 April).
The plan urges all stakeholders, be it civil society actors, private businesses, philanthropic institutions or international organizations, to offer new initiatives and adopt an accountability framework that will keep maternal and child health high on the national and international development agenda.
Stakeholders including high-level delegates such as Tanzania’s President, Norway’s Prime Minister, Indonesia’s Vice President, Canada’s Minister of International Cooperation, United States’ Secretary of Health and Human Services and the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) attended a luncheon before the launch.
Speaking at the launch, Ban told reporters that “too many women die from pregnancy or childbirth related injuries.”
According to the UN, every year hundreds of thousands of women and girls die in pregnancy or childbirth and another 10 to 15 million suffer severe or long lasting illnesses or disabilities caused by complications.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway said that despite the challenges facing maternal and newborn health, progress was evident. He talked about the findings published in the medical journal Lancet which reported that there has been a significant drop worldwide in the number of maternal deaths. He added that “if those figures prove to be correct than the picture has really changed,” for the better.
Reducing maternal mortality is one of the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set to be achieved by 2015.
WHO’s Margaret Chan called the progress “fragile” adding that it was “not enough” and that only some countries such as India, China, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia have reduced their national maternal mortality rates. She added that there needs to be global progress. .
The newly launched plan highlights the central role of women’s health in sustainable development and links women’s rights with safe motherhood and child survival.
Ban will convene a meeting tomorrow (15 April) to further develop a set of concrete actions to advance the plan.
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