Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General,
Dear colleagues,
The women Speakers of Parliament met on 16 and 17 July 2010 in the Swiss National Council in Bern. It was Pascal Bruderer’s and my privilege to chair this Sixth annual meeting of women speakers.
In our sixth meeting of women speakers, we have focused our discussions on two of the Millennium Development Goals: the MDG 4 on child mortality and the MDG 5 on maternal health. Of the eight MDGs, these two are making the least progress. They concern women and children. In other words, they concern all of us here today.
Dear colleagues,
Every minute of every day, one woman and 17 children die from preventable causes. Every minute of every day, 30 women suffer long-lasting injury or illness from pregnancy-related causes and complications - including unsafe abortion. Most of these deaths can be prevented through good policies, laws and adequate funding to promote and protect the health and well-being of women and children.
Our discussions in Bern focused on identifying what we, as speakers of parliament can do to change this situation. We have concluded our works by adopting the Bern Initiative for Global Parliamentary Action on Maternal and Child Health.
The Bern initiative is an eight-point plan for action through which, as women speakers of parliament, we committed ourselves to promote in our parliaments and through them the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5 by 2015. We will take all opportunities to:
(first point)
• Advocate the development or strengthening of gender-equitable national health action plans and ensure that the three pillars that all health systems need to support maternal and newborn health are addressed: family planning, skilled care during delivery, and emergency care;
(second point)
• Review and, where required, enact legislation with the objective of ensuring a national legislative framework that is aligned with international treaties, does not discriminate against women and girls, ensures their effective access to care regardless of their means, protects women from all forms of gender-based violence and children from abuse, violence and neglect;
(third point)
• Hold debates and dialogues in parliament on women’s and children’s health before the national budget is drafted and submitted to parliament for adoption, as well as when the budget is considered and debated in parliament;
(fourth point)
• Commission reports on the impact the budget will have on the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5; work to introduce gender-sensitive budgeting so that all members of parliament can know how the national budget affects men and women and meet their needs;
(fifth point)
• Advocate fulfillment of international official development aid commitments, ensure that all official international aid, particularly towards the health sector, is provided through the national budget adopted by parliament and, for parliaments in donor countries, monitor their country's international development aid from this perspective;
(sixth point)
• Monitor the implementation of the budget from the perspective of MDGs 4 and 5, enlist the support of the national audit institutions in this effort, make sure that data and information on maternal and child health is collected, and work to establish indicators to assess results;
(seventh point)
• Undertake visits to facilities in the country, in particular in remote rural areas and the poorest parts of the country, and hold public hearings in parliament with the participation of women and children to assess the impact of health legislation, policies and budgets; and
(eight and final point)
• Promote women’s empowerment through education and access to resources, sensitization of men and boys, including through the school curriculum, on equality and women’s rights, and enhancing women participation in politics and decision-making.
Mr. President,
Before ending my remarks, let me take the opportunity to thank you most warmly for the strong support you have provided to the works of the women speakers’ meeting and for your commitment to implementing the Bern initiative.
I would also like to take the opportunity to, once again, thank my colleagues women speakers who joined us in Bern from all around the world for two days of lively and intense discussions.
Dear colleagues,
I strongly encourage all of you to join me and all the women Speakers in taking action for women’s and children’s health and in implementing the Bern initiative in its 8 points of action.
Thank you for your attention and for your personal commitment to this matter of utmost importance!