Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - “Manos Unidas” (United Hands) will present its Campaign for 2008, the theme of which is: “Healthy mothers, a right and a hope,” inspired by the fifth Objective of the Developmental Objectives for the Millenium: “Improve maternal health.” Its goal is a “75% reduction of death tolls among mothers between 1990 and 2015.” During 2008, “Manos Unidas” will place all its efforts in decreasing the number of deaths and health complications that can be caused by maternity, working on behalf of all women, above all for those most in need, to provide them with the attention and care needed for the pregnancy and birth of a child.
According to “Manos Unidas” in their presentation of their Campaign, over half a million women (approximately one woman every minute) die per year as a result of complications during their pregnancy or in giving birth. Along with other direct causes of deaths in pregnancy and birth, are also causes from the condition of life: lack of access to basic services such as water and health care, discrimination of women in access to education, premature motherhood as a result of early-age marriage, teenage pregnancies, sexual abuse, and exploitation of women. In over 57 countries, over 20 percent of births are not attended by health personnel; 36 of the countries form part of sub-Saharan Africa.
Therefore, they consider that the best way to improve the health of mothers is to promote the improvement of women’s capacities, so that their condition as mothers will not become a risk to their own life. Healthy motherhood is promoted through fostering the conditions that allow a mother to be who she is: fount of life, self-giving, and total donation. The right to protect life is a desire and vocation of motherhood and is the fundamental right above all rights.
Thus, the non-profit organisation “Manos Unidas” has launched this campaign to work towards a motherhood that is cherished and lived with joy, healthy and without risks, educating women and making them conscious of their own health, as well as through the promotion of family and social conditions that are adequate for wholesome living. The group also promotes working towards an improvement of one’s own social, cultural, political, and economic environments of poverty and inequality, all of which threaten to eradicate the dignity of the woman and her maternity. Instead, the goal should be to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for as many as possible.
“Manos Unidas” is a Catholic non-profit organisation for development, made up of volunteers, that since 1960 have fought against poverty, hunger, malnutrition, diseases, lack of education, underdevelopment, as well as against their causes. (RG) (Agencia Fides 6/2/2008 Lines: 39 Words: 467)
