New Initiative Poised To Reduce Maternal Mortality Rates By More Than 25 Percent

New Initiative Poised To Reduce Maternal Mortality Rates By More Than 25 Percent

Groundbreaking New Effort Addressing the Leading Cause of Maternal Mortality to be featured in Upcoming Documentary Film

WASHINGTON, May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every year, more than half a million of the world's women lose their life during childbirth; a global crisis that has seen little to no improvement over the past seven years. Last year, an effort spearheaded by Pathfinder International capitalized on groundbreaking new technologies in the field of maternal health sought to address this crisis head on. What are these new technologies and how are they integrated into family planning programs? What impact have they had on women's lives already and what can we expect in the future? How will they improve social returns on investments in this area?

WHAT: On May 27th, the MacArthur Foundation and Pathfinder International will discuss dramatic results thus far in reducing maternal mortality utilizing this new technology and model of care. The program, entitled Continuum of Care: Addressing Maternal Health in India and Nigeria, features the introduction and distribution of an innovative new technology to address postpartum hemorrhage, the "anti-shock garment." The initiative will focus efforts on India and Nigeria, two countries that comprise more than one-third of all maternal deaths worldwide.

WHO: MacArthur Foundation and Pathfinder International

WHEN: May 27th, 12:00pm

WHERE: National Press Club, First Amendment Room

Pathfinder International places reproductive health care at the center of all that we do--believing that it is not only a fundamental human right, but it is critical for expanding life opportunities for women, families, communities, and nations, while paving the way for transformations in environmental stewardship, decreases in population pressures, and innovations in poverty reduction. Pathfinder provides women, men, and adolescents with a range of quality health services--from contraception and maternal care to HIV prevention and AIDS care and treatment. Pathfinder strives to strengthen access to family planning, ensure availability of safe abortion services, and advocate for sound reproductive health policies in the US and abroad.

More information is available at www.pathfind.org.

Source: Pathfinder International

CONTACT: Cara Hesse of Pathfinder International, +1-617-270-7788,
chesse@pathfind.org

Web Site: http://www.pathfind.org/

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