MDGs may fail due to missing essentials
A group of charities and campaign groups have challenged political leaders that if they fail to put women and girls’ empowerment, maternal health and sexual reproductive health and rights at the heart of the next generation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), then the post-2015 framework is doomed to failure.
The stark warning came as member states gather in New York for the United National General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss progress on Post-2015.
The group, which includes ActionAid, White Ribbon Alliance, Womankind Worldwide and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) outlined the impact of the epidemic of violence against women and girls.
IPPF director general Tewodros Melesse, said: “”Unless the link between sexual and reproductive health and rights, social inequalities, and gender inequality is recognised, the new framework will not tackle the root causes of poverty and we will not live in a world truly free from it.”
Melesse added that UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s report is promising, there is still a lot that is missing from the Post-2015 list.
“Violence against women is not only an attack on them, it’s an attack on their self-esteem, life chances, economic opportunity and development,” he said.
In Malawi, where 45 percent of girls get pregnant before the age of 18, there are increasing reports on cases of violence against women.
According to UNFPA, fulfilling the unmet need for modern family planning would reduce the number of pregnancy-related deaths by 48 000 in sub-Saharan Africa and 79 000 globally.
“Having fewer, healthier children reduces the economic burden on poor families and allows them to invest more in each child’s care and schooling,” reads the UNFPA contraceptive factsheet.
