Dispatches - September
Edgy New Advocacy Video on YouTube
29 September
Helsinki – A heavily pregnant woman jumping from a 15- meter high spring board? Surely
not!
Yet this is the story line of a new advocacy video for the Finnish PushForChange Campaign. The video, launched on YouTube last week, aims to spread the message that no woman should die giving life. Every minute, a woman dies of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. This adds up to more than 500,000 women annually and 10 million over a generation, 99 per cent of them in developing countries.
The video is part of the joint UNFPA and Family Federation of Finland (FFF) campaign designed around an interactive web site where visitors can support the campaign and take part in it. The video was filmed in Helsinki’s open-air swimming pool with the help of volunteers from the Push community this summer.
“Making motherhood safer is a top priority for UNFPA in all countries where women face high risks of maternal death and illness,” said Mr. Asger Ryhl, Chief of UNFPA’s Nordic Office. “The PUSH! Campaign will hopefully shed light on the fact that for millions of poor girls and women in developing countries, the chances of surviving a delivery has not changed over the last 20 years. In some countries, the situation has in fact worsened.”
The PUSH! Campaign builds on the multiplier effects of email and online social networks – including the hugely popular Facebook and YouTube. It encourages people to take action and push for more awareness, political support and investment needed to improve maternal health.
The campaign continues until October 2008, when the “PUSH! Appeal” signatures will be handed over to Paavo Värynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development in Finland. Please feel free to share this link with the ones close to you and sign the Push Appeal.
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Danish Minister Launches MDG Report
26 September
Copenhagen – The Danish Development Minister, Ms. Ulla Tørnæs, along with Copenhagen-based UN agencies, released the Secretary-General’s progress report on the MDGs at a UN press briefing here. According to the report, the world has made strong and sustained progress in reducing extreme poverty, but this is now being undercut by higher prices – particularly of food and oil – and by the global economic slowdown.
Ms. Tørnæs underscored the importance of meeting MDG3 on gender equality. She pointed out that of the 11 areas needing the greatest effort, four directly concerned women and girls.
“Whether it is the low share of female parliamentarians in developing countries or the fact that more than 500,000 women die annually in childbirth or of complications from pregnancy, the numbers speak for themselves,” she said.
The Minister also emphasized strong and ongoing Danish support through the Global Call to Action Campaign, which focuses on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. An important element of the campaign is the MDG Champion Torch, which has generated over 100 commitments to do something extra in support for gender equality. Yesterday, the Danish Prime Minister, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen handed over the final Torch – no. 100 - to the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon at the High Level Event on the MDGs in New York.
The 2008 MDG report is the most comprehensive global assessment of progress to date, based on work carried out by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on the official MDG Indicators. You can download the report in several languages here.
