Abstract
A large international conference was held in London in October 2007 to celebrate 20 years of the Safe Motherhood Initiative. Launched in Nairobi, in 1987 by the WHO, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank, and joined by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Population Council shortly thereafter, the initiative aimed at addressing the then neglected high maternal death rates in poor countries. Now, 20 years later, we can see that, while some progress has been made, the regions with the poorest maternal health have made the least progress: sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The objectives of the London conference were to take stock of the situation, to highlight the global consensus on effective strategies to reduce maternal mortality and, above all, to galvanize political will and commitment to address this scandalous situation. Although technical issues were discussed in a large number of small sessions, in panel after panel participants hammered on the need to create a global movement around maternal and newborn survival. Whether that objective was achieved will be the focus of this paper.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.