Healthy Mothers, Healthy Families

Last week U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, gave a speech to the World Medical Association in Geneva for the World Health Assembly. She spoke of America’s struggles with health care disparities for women, and the global issues impacting maternal and reproductive health. Of all the Millennium Development Goals, the goals set for maternal and reproductive health are farthest from reaching their targets.

Secretary Sebelius said:

Women in America often pay more for health insurance, just because they’re women. And to add insult to injury, these plans often don’t even cover the basic care they need. In my country, just one out of 8 plans for those who buy their own insurance cover maternity care—as if getting pregnant were some very rare condition.” … “Of course, we see the same thing around the world. Every two minutes, a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. The risks are even greater if you live in the developing world—where three out of every four women needing care for complications from pregnancy do not receive it.

Secretary Sebelius also talked of the commonalities between American and developing world mothers and the vital role they play in their communities. The shortsightedness of not supporting these women can have a rippling effect on a society.

Women are responsible for accessing health services for their families. Many of them are closely involved in actually providing health care for those around them. So by improving the health of women, we can improve the health of communities too.

Read the full speech here.