Healthy lives, healthy futures
Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Margaret in News
The U.S. Commitment to Reproductive Health
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for renewed support for international family planning and reproductive health programs in a speech from the U.S. Department of State.
The event commemorated the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). In 1994, 179 representatives from around the world gathered for the ICPD conference in Cairo and agreed to achieve universal access to reproductive health services by the year 2015, a goal reinforced in the Millennium Development Goals. Cairo was the first global forum that recognized the connection between women’s health, the quality of women’s lives and human progress. Now, 15 years later, too many women still have little or no access to reproductive health services. Secretary Clinton’s statement marks a return to U.S. leadership on international family planning.
Clinton emphasized that “reproductive healthcare is critical to the health of women, and that women’s health is essential to the prosperity and opportunity for all, to the stability of families and communities, and the sustainability and development of nations”. There is an urgency of the need for increased access to women’s health services – every minute of every day, one woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth, and each year six million more suffer injury, illness, or disability. In addition, Clinton highlighted the ties between equity, rights and health care, stating that “… we cannot accept the marginalization of half the world’s population.” Women Deliver’s motto, “Invest in Women- It Pays” was emphasized in Clinton’s speech as well, as she told the world that “… investing in the health of women and girls is the smartest investment we can make.”
Watch Secretary Clinton’s speech here.
Read Secretary Clinton’s speech here.
