Maternal and Child Health

On the sidelines of the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI), the First Lady of Kenya, Mrs Margaret Kenyatta and the wife of Japan Prime Minister, Mrs. Akie Abe, jointly organized this Saturday August 27, 2016, in Nairob, a workshop of First Ladies seminar on the theme: "For the Future of Women and Girls in Africa." The seminar focused on child and maternal health, universal coverage, cancer and finally HIV / AIDS.

 

The spouses of Heads of State, donor of development agencies and organizations, the academic world, health professionals, NGOs and society shared their experiences.

 

The finding itself remains bitter. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), in Africa every day, about 830 women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

 

5.9 million children under 5 years of age died in 2015. A dizzying progression of breast and cervical cancer is recorded in African countries.

 

This sad observation led ten African First Ladies and Japan First Lady present in Nairobi to launch "The Call to Action: Investing in maternal and child health for the social transformation of Africa '' through six commitments.

 

On behalf of the African First Ladies and Japan First Lady, the First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire, Mrs. Dominique Ouattara has shared her commitments. Indeed, the First Ladies have undertaken to promote the acceleration of the reduction of preventable maternal deaths. "No woman should die giving life, '' insisted the First Ladies.

 

They are also committed to supporting the efforts of governments to promote reproductive health and rights of all women. In addition, the First Ladies will fight against the structural and cultural barriers, to continue to defend gender equality and the rights of all women and young people. '' We the First Ladies of Africa, called on African governments to continue to gradually increase their investments in the health sector to achieve the Abuja Declaration of 2001, in which African governments committed themselves to invest 15% of their annual budget in the health sector. These investments will not only help in the fight against diseases such as HIV and cancer, but will also serve to strengthen health systems that will save lives and allow strong economic growth, '' concluded First Lady Dominique Ouattara on behalf of her peers.