FIGO Demands Action at Civil G8 Preparatory Meeting
More than 200 NGOs attend preparation summit in Rome
GYNAECOLOGISTS DEMAND THAT G8 DEDICATE MORE RESOURCES TO MATERNAL INFANT NURSING CARE
SIGO president and FIGO delegate, Giorgio Vittori declares “Our objective is to save millions of lives: every 8 minutes a woman dies due to unsafe abortion methods, and one out of every 40 is killed by her partner”
One woman dies every minute for pregnancy related problems and 110 become victims of birth complications. In most cases these problems can be avoided.
“One of the priorities of the International Fedration of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) is to save these lives and this is the reason we are holding this Civil G8 summit” states Professor Giorgio Vittori, president of the Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (SIGO) and FIGO delegate for the course of the meeting held today in Campidoglio, Rome.
The most important civil society organisations from all over the world attended the meeting that took place in Rome, Italy from 3rd to 5th May 2009. The results will be passed on to world government representatives at the summit next July.
“We are asking the world’s richest countries to invest 10 billion dollars in moves to sustain maternity”, states Dorothy Shaw, President of FIGO. “We are facing a serious devaluation of female problems, above all in developing countries. Every 8 minutes a woman dies for birth related complications and unsafe abortion practices. One in every 40 is killed by her partner. Every year more than 2 million undergo genital mutilation and 2 million people die from AIDS”.
“We are looking at a dramatic situation that goes beyond moral and ethnic problems that has a boomerang effect on world economics and health”, Vittori continued. “Governments must start to take more interest in the problems of birth control, contraception and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. The future economic cost of this negligence will greatly exceed that of prevention and control today”.
FIGO is the only organisation that brings together professional societies of obstetricians and gynaecologists on a global basis. In 2012 FIGO will hold its triennial congress in Rome. The role of FIGO during this Civil G8 meeting is to put together structured projects with an accurate breakdown of the various resources. More than 200 delegates will be at the summit, divided into working groups dealing with health, climate and environment changes, food and agriculture, world economics and employment. Spokespersons from the Civil G8 will meet government representatives – “sherpas” - to communicate their conclusions and proposals. The summit will finish at with a press conference.