Date: March 8 | Time: 10 am (WDC, Panama, Peru) - 9 am (Honduras, Mexico) - 11 am (Guyana, Dominican Republic) - 12 am (Argentina, Brasilia, Paraguay, Uruguay)
The maternal mortality situation in Latin America and the Caribbean is dire:
- Nearly 8,000 women die each year due to pregnancy-related complications.
- Inequities in socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, education, place of residence and age increase the risk of dying during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium.
- 9 out of 10 maternal deaths are preventable with timely access to evidence-based maternal care, including to contraception.
- The COVID 19 pandemic caused a 20-year setback in maternal health indicators in the region.
In response to this crisis, the Regional Task Force for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality (GTR) is launching the “Zero Maternal Deaths: Prevent the Preventable” campaign, a call to action to join forces to accelerate maternal mortality reduction in Latin American and the Caribbean.
The launch will take place through a hybrid event (face-to-face and virtual). The opening will be led by Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and will include Dr. José Manuel Matheu, Secretary of Health of Honduras; Dr. Lida Sosa Arguello, from the Ministry of Public Health of Paraguay; and Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Health of Guyana. Also participating will be Nayeline Medina, representative of the Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean and Diaspora Women's Network; Dr. Susana Sottoli, regional director of UNFPA, as well as advisors from the other GTR agencies. During the launch, a joint statement in favor of maternal mortality reduction will be read and signed by all members of the Group.
Register here to follow the event virtually.
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French.
GTR members are the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), EE Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank (WB), the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the Latin American Federation of Obstetrics Societies and Gynecology, Fòs Feminista, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership.