Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) will head the US Congressional delegation at the upcoming Women Deliver conference in London (Oct 18-20) to address the crisis of maternal mortality worldwide and highlight the vital connection between women’s human rights and economic development, according to a press release from her office. Other delegation members Hilda Solis (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Candice Miller (R-MI) will join 1,500 global leaders- health professionals, economists, reproductive health advocates and senior government officials- who aim to prioritize women’s health issues.
Globally, one woman dies every minute of every day during pregnancy or childbirth, resulting in 536,000 maternal deaths annually. Four million newborns also die every year of preventable causes.
While most maternal deaths are concentrated in developing regions, the United States, ranked 41st among 171 countries for risk of maternal death. “We have to ask ourselves what are these 40 countries doing to better protect the health and well-being of their mothers, how can we learn from them and how can we improve conditions throughout the world?” said Rep. Capps. “We simply have to do better for our mothers and their families, both in the United States and around the world.”
The conference, co-organized by organizations including UNFPA, UNICEF, the World Bank and the World Health Organization, aims to convince the world that women’s health is vital to global success.
