Are you joining in the conversation about human rights and global health?
The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations room in the Palais des Nations in Geneva
Too bad there is nobody in the beautiful room yet. There should be. We need to have an important conversation in global health. We need to talk about justice and the right to health, and the need to change how we coordinate the work of the hundreds of organizations, foundations and donors that work in global health.
I would like to invite you to this room along with all those that believe that preventable deaths are a social injustice and it is time to use the science and technology we have now to significantly reduce maternal and infant mortality. We would also look at the map of our planet that shows where most women and children die of preventable and treatable conditions. Next, we would end the meeting by all agreeing and committing to prevent these deaths in this way:
- 300 international organizations would commit to preventing 1,000 maternal deaths each. How? By ensuring every woman gets four antenatal visits, by building waiting houses where necessary, and by upgrading and modernizing the maternities and labor rooms in the districts where maternal mortality is the highest. And then, 300,000 women’s lives would be saved every year and we would have fulfilled the right of women to non-discrimination and to the highest attainable standard of healthcare.
- 1,000 international organizations would each commit to work with 80 local organizations each to ensure each prevents 100 children from dying starting in the districts of highest mortality. How? By ensuring that quality newborn care is available in every maternity and labor room, that all children in the high mortality districts get immunized, their parents are educated about breastfeeding and infant nutrition, and about preventing and treating common conditions at home and preventing accidents and creating opportunities for the children to play and learn. In this way, eight million children would survive every year and we would have helped fulfill the Convention of the Rights of the Child, and particularly, their right to life and health.
It is that simple!
Will you join the conversation by going to our LinkedIn or Facebook page and help us find these organizations that will change the world in 2015? Go now to Linked-in and or Facebook and invite at least 5 people you know to join in the conversation.
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