Improving Maternal Health

Topic:
Country: China
Delegate Name: Emily Elkantar

It is shown that more than 800 women die everyday because of maternal health complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, and for each woman who dies at least 20 will suffer from injuries or infections or even disabilities do to the matter. The most common injurie from these are blood loss, high blood pressure, infection, and unsafe abortion. We China are for Improving Maternal Health

This is demonstrated by the fact that the maternal mortality rate is disproportionately high in developing nations where access to healthcare is limited. 94% of all maternal deaths occur in low and lower middle-income countries, and the proportion of mothers who do not survive childbirth compared to those who do is 14 times higher in developing areas. However, ensuring that women survive pregnancy and childbirth is just the beginning. And just one easy way to help improve that are women getting support during and after the pregnancy to help with injury and discomfort and to also promote health and well being. It can also be addressed at a health care provider level by ensuring health care systems world wide have the right resources to provide for good maternal health. It can also be addressed by making or expanding new programs that are made to raise awareness about maternal health. It can also be addressed by taking social inequalities that give rise to higher rates of maternal mortality to returning nations.

These are just some of the ways we could help this situation now but there’s still so much we could do. China requests that all nations worldwide have the right equipment for woman to help with these issues. China thinks with all of the right equipment worldwide the mortality rate can go down drastically. And countries that support should help and profit more into the cause of help us.

Country: Indonesia
Delegate Name: Jasmine Mand

United Nations Women
Improving Maternal Health
The Republic of Indonesia
Jasmine Mand
Forest Hills Eastern High School

Improving maternal health is a necessity in most countries. One effect is that maternal health care can cost 10,000 dollars without health insurance. Poverty is the leading cause in … Additionally, many people cannot afford to be in hospitals to deliver their babies and more than 800 women daily have complications related to pregnancy or childbirth Also, the most common death occurs from excessive blood loss, infection, high blood pressure, and unsafe abortion. Without the correct tools and healthcare professionals, we will not be able to improve maternal health. Deaths related to maternal complications can be prevented if there is quality health care. The UN maternal health is a tenant of the United Nations Development Program. Other causes like malaria, heart disease, and anemia can also be indirect causes of complications during pregnancy. So far, the United Nations (UN) has attempted to improve the availability of medicine and reproductive health services.

The Republic of Indonesia realizes the maternal health risk factors of diseases and the lack of care for mothers in their country. Indonesia partnered with Phillps (medical technology company) to provide Mobile Obstetrics Monitoring Software (MOM), a software that identifies risk factors in pregnant women, MOM helped detect high-risk pregnancies from 5% to 17%. Furthermore, there is data showing that most women in Indonesia experience anemia during their pregnancy, and this software provided a 99% decrease in anemia. Since 2010, Indonesia’s maternal death rates have decreased, and since 2017, 177 deaths per 100,000 born have been recorded. Indonesia has more professionally trained doctors and nurses in its facility. Indonesia has increased its literacy level to help provide better care. The government of Indonesia has also partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide better healthcare priorities. Also, Japan’s government provided assistance to Indonesia for better child health development. In 1989, the Indonesian government sent out the Midwifery, which helps pregnant women access a midwife at a rapid speed of time if they do not have one.

Indonesia requests the United Nations to better care for maternal health all around the world. The joint committee believes that Indonesia’s mortality rate can be reduced to a significantly low number with the better effort of care mothers. Indonesia recommends that all births be ensured in a safe and certified facility. Countries that are willing to accept this policy should provide more funds to help. Developing nations can partner up with other countries. Developing new programs for maternal health is necessary. Indonesia is improving and achieving its goals of improving maternal health and will support other countries with money.

Country: Israel
Delegate Name: Jane Barnett

The State of Israel
UN Women
Improving Maternal Health

The World Health organization reports that 303,000 mothers and 2.7 million newborn infants die each year in childbirth. Even more disturbing, is the disparity in maternal health between income levels, and developing nations. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made this issue even more urgent. According to the journal of reproductive health, “prenatal care visits decreased, healthcare infrastructure was strained, and potentially harmful policies are implemented with little evidence in high and low/middle income countries”. Further, this disparity is affecting indigenous women at a virtually unknown rate. The UN Population fund reports that there is alarmingly little data on indigenous maternal health throughout the world, which is an issue Israel hopes to address.With the improvement of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s absolutely crucial that the UN Women committee prioritize maternal health as a huge issue.

The country of Israel has already met the UN’s 2030 Sustainable development goals for maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, and mortality in children younger than 5 years in all population groups. Additionally, Israel has several initiatives to improve the maternal and neonatal healthcare of indigenous groups like the Naquab. Israel leads the world in access to in vitro-fertilization (IVF), the first step in maternal health, for many hopeful families. Israel is an incredibly child and family centric society, where maternal health is a priority. This nation hopes that this committee will work to support maternal health in a similar way.

The broad issue of maternal health is extremely multifaceted, and requires diverse solutions. One solution could be the expansion of Maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR). This encourages a “blame free” system of reporting neonatal and maternal deaths, in order to craft more precise and efficient policy. Additionally, improvement on education and implementation of nutrition, mental health, and medication can all help reduce the tragedy of preventable maternal and neonatal deaths. This issue is extremely complex, so Israel looks forward to crafting modern, effective, and specific solutions.

Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Natalie Mouw

UN Women
Improving Maternal Health
United States of America
Natalie Mouw
Forest Hills Eastern

Nearly 300,000 women still die during pregnancy and childbirth each year, due to largely preventable and treatable causes. 200 million women do not have access to modern contraception. Access for women to proper healthcare during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal care must become a right for women across the globe. While the past half-century has seen a promising increase in the awareness of maternal health issues and women’s medical rights, there remains a stark disparity between women’s health in industrialized compared to developing countries. In remote areas of underdeveloped countries, women are unable to receive the assistance they need. This is due to both limited healthcare in developing areas as well as a travel barrier to proper medical care. The disparity widens daily; although it is vital for industrialized countries to continue forging new, necessary treatments for women’s health, it remains a pressing issue that developing countries are not left on their own to fall further behind in the area of maternal health. Women in developing countries often do not have access to health facilities, pregnancy counseling, nutritional education, contraceptives, family planning services, or HIV treatments.
Improving the health of women significantly impacts the health and economic well-being of families and societies for the better, and therefore must be treated as a top-most priority.

The United States is the largest donor to women’s health in the world and has been for decades. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has played a substantial role in advancing the health of women in low and middle-income countries. USAID’s support of international family planning activities started in 1965, and the United State’s determination to improve the health of women across the globe is reflected in continued USAID efforts over the years. Today, major efforts include programs by USAID for maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning, and reproductive health programs. Additionally, the US federal program responding to global HIV/AIDS had an emphasis on adolescent girls’ health with the DREAMS initiative – aiming to reduce rates of HIV among young women and teen girls in countries with the highest HIV rates. The impact of these US programs spans more than 50 low and middle-income countries, and their footprint continues to grow. USAID’s investments helped reduce rates of death during childbirth by more than 50% (source). Additionally, countries supported by the USAID family planning and reproductive health program have increased contraceptive prevalence and new HIV infections have fallen in countries with US federal support.

Despite the global progress the US has assisted in improving women’s health, there is always more to be done. The United States is devoted to reaching across border lines and continuing to offer resources and medical aid to not only assist with current maternal health issues in developing countries but also to strengthen the foundation of maternal health in these countries. The United States envisions an increased availability of medical education and specific education for women to be aware of their medical rights. The US also plans to improve access to medical education, pregnancy counseling, and parental planning in low and middle-income countries. While the current USAID programs reach these goals, the US looks to continue the USAID missions and partner with other developed countries and the United Nations to continue improving women’s health and spreading outreach to more developing areas.

Country: Poland
Delegate Name: Jonah Mechtenberg-Berrigan

Maternal health is a very large issue around the world, especially in lower income countries and developing areas. Maternal health is defined as the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Over 800 women die each day from maternal-health related issues. Poland has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world, at 2 deaths per 100,000 births. They have more rights surrounding childbirth as well. Poland wishes to set an example for other countries around the world with higher maternal mortality, and is willing to provide funds to help decrease maternal mortality.
According to the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, Poland has taken action to “select the place and mode of delivery, to decide the companions in delivery room, and to be with her child after 2 h of birth”. Poland also forbids almost all abortions after a law placed in 2021. However, Poland also has contributed funds to the Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund.
Poland is in favor of increasing maternal health in less developed countries, and will contribute resources to do so. It believes the UN should allow more universal rights around childbirth, and Poland would like to encourage other countries to have universal healthcare. It also would like to encourage a limit on abortions. Poland will likely ally itself with other members of the European Union, as well as any other countries with beliefs similar to Poland.

Country: Poland
Delegate Name: Jonah Mechtenberg-Berrigan

Maternal health is a very large issue around the world, especially in lower income countries and developing areas. Maternal health is defined as the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Over 800 women die each day from maternal-health related issues. Poland has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world, at 2 deaths per 100,000 births. They have more rights surrounding childbirth as well. Poland wishes to set an example for other countries around the world with higher maternal mortality, and is willing to provide funds to help decrease maternal mortality.
According to the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, Poland has taken action to “select the place and mode of delivery, to decide the companions in delivery room, and to be with her child after 2 h of birth”. Poland also forbids almost all abortions after a law placed in 2021. However, Poland also has contributed funds to the Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund.
Poland is in favor of increasing maternal health in less developed countries, and will contribute resources to do so. It believes the UN should allow more universal rights around childbirth, and Poland would like to encourage other countries to have universal healthcare. It also would like to encourage a limit on abortions. Poland will likely ally itself with other members of the European Union, as well as any other countries with beliefs similar to Poland.

Country: Egypt
Delegate Name: Rishika Kokkula

UN Women
Improving maternal health
The Arab Republic of Egypt
Rishika Kokkula
Forest Hills Eastern High School

Maternal health is defined by the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-birth. The United Nations has continued to improve maternal health over the years through coordination across many committees and nations. In the past, the United Nations set the goal to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. However, more than 800 women continue to die every day from complications due to pregnancy and childbirth. Considering this, maternal health and reducing maternal mortality worldwide remains a pressing issue that requires specific attention from the United Nations.

Egypt recognizes the importance of recognizing maternal health as an issue to be addressed by the United Nations. Over the years, Egypt has modernized its healthcare system, dramatically improving maternal and child health in the country. In the 1970s, the government in Egypt partnered with USAID to develop healthier families. This increased access to timely medical care and decreased maternal mortality rates by over 70 percent. Egypt has accepted and greatly appreciated US help and investments in bettering healthcare systems and modernizing hospitals and clinical skills of healthcare workers.

However, Egypt recognizes that not all countries are fortunate enough to endure these changes to their healthcare systems to reduce maternal mortality rates. Statistically, most maternal health issues occur in developing countries where access to healthcare is limited. Over 90 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing counties. Women across the world need maternal aid before, during, and after childbirth. Recognizing this, Egypt fully supports expanding and developing healthcare systems in third-world countries. Egypt urges USAID to assist other countries that need help in modernizing and improving their healthcare facilities. We believe that the first step in reducing maternal mortality and improving maternal health lies in assisting third-world and developing countries where access to healthcare is severely limited. Consistent efforts of Egypt and other organizations in collaboration have proved hopeful for a future with substantially improved maternal health.

Country: Denmark
Delegate Name: Giselle Wong

United Nations Women
Improving Maternal Health
Denmark
Giselle Wong, Forest Hills Northern High School

Over the years there have been many advancements in technology surrounding healthcare. Yet the mortality and injury rate surrounding the cycle of maternal pregnancy is unreasonably high. Every day around 830 women die during pregnancy or childbirth from causes that could have been prevented. With Denmark being a massive advocate for improving women’s healthcare in general, we have taken many steps to try and decrease the number of women who die or are injured before, during, or after childbirth.
Denmark has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world. Since 1994 when our childbirth mortality rate was 11.8 per 100,000 live births our numbers have dropped significantly. As of 2017, there were 70 maternal deaths and 999,206 live births, resulting in a maternal mortality rate of 7.0 per 100,000 live births and since then we have continued to make an effort to get fewer deaths every year. Denmark has expanded our efforts to research ways to prevent deaths when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth, we make sure our teams of health officials are well-trained and have the right qualifications to care for people during childbirth. Denmark has made sure maternal health is a priority and Although we strive to improve the quality of maternal healthcare in our own country we encourage other countries to follow in our efforts. Seeing as there are still countries in the world with maternal mortality rates as high as 1,150 per 100,000 live births. Denmark understands not all countries have the finances to significantly improve their healthcare systems so we have taken action in trying to help other countries by donating to their women’s reproductive and sexual health organizations as well as UNFPA. For example, Denmark has donated 25 Million Danish Krone. The funding will enable UNFPA to continue prioritizing the reproductive health and protection needs of women and girls affected by the war in Ukraine.
Denmark hopes for other countries to take into consideration, expanding their efforts to provide better care for the women in their countries. Whether each country puts more funding into budgets towards maternal health, strives for better OBGYN education, and/or brings more awareness to the topic of women’s reproductive and sexual healthcare. Denmark encourages countries to make maternal healthcare a priority, seeing as Denmark is a prime example that when countries take steps to improve maternal healthcare, the number of deaths by pregnancy or childbirth can significantly decrease.

Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: Tristan Gerville-Reache

There are 4 billion women on earth, and all should have access to medicare before, during, and after childbirth. A statistic from 2017 estimates that 295,000 women died due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth that year. Regarding this statistic, the United Kingdom has taken measures to decrease the number of deaths caused by complications from pregnancy or childbirth, such as curing or preventing hemorrhages, infections, and blood pressure disorders due to pregnancy.
The United Kingdom has created specialized care teams for childbirth, improving maternal-fetal medicines to improve maternal health prior to and during childbirth. Hospitals and medical facilities in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have created these teams for their facilities. The United Kingdom acknowledges that about 140 million births take place every year and the attendance for childbirth by skilled health personnel has increased over the years. Although situations have improved, we encourage motion toward having healthcare professionals present for all childbirths. It was stated that deaths from complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period have declined by 38% in the last two decades, but at an average reduction of just under 3% per year.
We have taken measures to ensure that progression for maternal health during childbirth improves at a more significant rate. The United Kingdom promotes the Women’s Health Organization’s (WHO) motion for health planning where women’s values and preferences are at the center of their own care. We also align with WHO towards “promoting health along the whole continuum of pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal terms”. We have been taking action towards providing good nutrition, detecting and preventing diseases, and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. By ensuring maternal health is a priority, there is a reduction in the United Kingdom’s death rates due to pregnancy and childbirth.
The United Kingdom understands that not all countries may be able to advance medicare facilities for maternal health but does aim to structure budgets and movements toward improving maternal-fetal health. We promote providing good nutrition for soon-to-be mothers, detecting and preventing diseases, and health planning where women are the center of their own care. Since the increase in global population, the United Kingdom would like to promote ensuring the health and safety of all and soon-to-be citizens.

Country: France
Delegate Name: Audrey Krajewski

UN Women
Improving Maternal Health
France
Audrey Krajewski

France believes strongly in women’s rights. These beliefs are included but not limited to this are ensuring all women have access to safe pregnancies and births, legal abortions and usage of contraceptives, protection from sexual assualt/abuse and the ability to live freely and to the fullest. Unfortunately, women’s health varies dramatically around the world. With 247 million women living below the poverty line worldwide, what should be simple things like access to pads and tampons becomes impossible. France hopes to be a shining example of what can be achieved in countries worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization in a recent study, France provides the greatest healthcare system of any country in the world. France especially shines through taking care of women and their babies. This is evident in the mortality rate of 3 babies passing away for every 1,000 born. Additionally, France requires all women to take an 8 week leave after giving birth. Women can be paid ￡89 a day for 16 weeks of leave, and under government law are allowed to take 26 weeks before they must return to work. Another example of France’s world class health care for women dates back 55 years ago. On 27th December 1967, The Neuwirth law decriminalised the use of contraception in France. Eight years later, France legalized abortion under The Veil Law. In 1982, abortions became partially funded by the government and fully funded by the government in 2013. After Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, a movement in France gained traction to cement the right to abortion in the French constitution. Roughly 80% of all French citizens support the proposal, and France is currently awaiting a senate vote on the issue. Several foundations in France support women’s rights and health, most notable Foundation Des Femmes, which has donated 770,000 kits of basic necessities to abandoned and struggling pregnant women, as well as victims of sexual assault. France has seen success overall in protecting not just pregnant women, but all women. However, France realises that other countries struggle to do the same. Due to this, the government of France made a ￡90 million donation to “UNFPA Supplies Partnership” which is a flagship programme that provides modern contraceptives and life-saving maternal health medicines to countries with some of the highest maternal death rates in the world.
France understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a huge threat to maternal health. France is interested in continuing to build and uphold our relationship with UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), in addition to working with other more privileged countries to support our more underprivileged neighbours. France wants to learn more about what underprivileged propose, and how they can aid. All too often women die in childbirth or pregnancy, and enough is enough. France is interested in concrete solutions to help every woman and child, and believes it’s time all of us start taking the situation with the urgency it requires.

Country: Kenya
Delegate Name: Madelyn Sheridan

(11/20/22)
SUBMITTED TO:(UN Women )
FROM:(Kenya)
SUBJECT:(Maternal Health)

In Kenya the maternal mortality rate is incredibly high because kenya does not have advanced lifesaving reproductive healthcare. In some rural communities pregnant women have to walk for hours to reach healthcare facilities. Healthcare facilities in Kenya are in dire need of repair and in some cases need to be torn down and totally rebuilt. Kenya simply does not have enough resources like medicine, ultrasounds, blood tests and trained medical professionals for pregnant people in Kenya to get proper prepartum and postpartum healthcare. All of these obstacles get in the way and prevent people from having safe pregnancies and births. These issues all contribute to the extremely high maternal mortality in Kenya. How can healthcare facilities be improved to provide proper care to pregnant people? How can healthcare facilities keep their staff properly trained in reproductive health? Kenya thinks a good resolution should include a fund for improving under developed healthcare facilities. Another thing that a good resolution should have is a program to train healthcare professionals in reproductive healthcare. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 focuses on improving maternal health around the world. In 2000 world leaders set a goal to reach MDG 5 yet the maternal mortality rate is still just as high as it was 20 years ago. The goal of MDG 5 was to decrease the rate of maternal mortality by 75% between 1990 and 2015. Sadly MDG 5 was not reached by 2015, and in 2021 the global maternal mortality rate was between 211-159 deaths per every 100,000 live births (0.002%). In 1990 the global maternal mortality rate was between 385-260 deaths per every 100,000 live births (0.003%). As you can see the maternal mortality rate has decreased in the past 40 years but it has not decreased enough especially considering the significant advancements made in medicine in the past 40 years. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.1 focuses on decreasing the maternal mortality rate to less that 70 deaths per every 100,000 deaths (0.0007%) by 2030, but the projected global maternal mortality rate for 2030 is 141 deaths per every 100,000 live births (0.0014%). MDG 5 and SDG 3.1 have been goals for many years and yet there still hasn’t been significant progress made in decreasing the global maternal mortality rate. Figuring out why these goals haven’t been as successful as they could be and then improving upon them in a resolution should be a priority for the committee. The nation of Kenya is devoted to decreasing the global maternal mortality rate and protecting people who are pregnant. People should not have to fear for their lives or the lives of their child when pregnant. Kenya is confident that we can find a solution to the extremely high maternal mortality rates and save lots of lives.

Country: Colombia
Delegate Name: Alex Vogel

Delegate: Alex Vogel
Country: Colombia
Committee: UN Women
Topic: Improving Maternal Mortality
Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. While rates of maternal mortality have seen great decreases in recent years, they remain at unacceptable heights. The rate of maternal mortality has seen a 38 percent decrease from 2000 to 2017 worldwide, hoverver, the fact remains that 94 percent of maternal deaths occur in lower income countries, displaying a direct tie between poverty and maternal deaths. Most of these deaths are preventable, and are the result of insufficient healthcare opportunities. Not only maternal health should be considered- in the early stages of life, the health of the mother and the health of the newborn are inextricably linked. Access to quality care makes a life-or-death difference on this topic, and the current death rates are unacceptable.
50 years of conflict have affected Columbia’s mothers greatly, and studies show areas with high levels of conflict and victimization in periods of high-volatility in Colombia’s history have a direct link to higher rates of maternal mortality- the areas visibly affected by this rise in maternal morality are remote, unsecure, or were treacherous during times of conflict, so much so that most assistance was provided by the already taxed Colombian government. The 50 years of conflict Colombia has experienced has made Colombia a hot-spot for humanitarian work, but it is important to avoid letting issues deemed of lesser importance or urgency also be paid attention to. Colombia hopes to lower rates of maternal mortality within its borders, as well as increasing access to natal care.
Colombia would propose to begin resolve these troubling issues by suggesting, encouraging, and participating in initiatives to grow, fund, and research medical avenues regarding maternal and natal. Colombia does not wish to interfere with the sovereignty of any nation, and would be opposed to any plan which deprives any country of their right to assist, monitor, and nurture their own people. Colombia also urges countries that have made steps towards research, cutting-edge care, and compassion towards struggling mothers to step forward and lead in the initiative to solve this issue. Colombia expects to find allies in other struggling countries- both regarding maternal mortality and poverty- and higher income European countries who have historically pushed to the forefront of similar endeavors.

Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Delegate Name: Jennasee Hollingworth

Approximately 800 women die every day from maternal health complications, many of which are preventable with access to proper healthcare. Maternal health refers to the health of people during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. There are eight countries that make up 50% of the world’s maternal mortality, which include but are not limited to India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Nations such as these, which are consistently seeing a disproportionate amount of maternal health-related deaths, would benefit from action taken by the United Nations.
In recent years, the maternal mortality rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has decreased, but only slightly. Amidst war and violence in DRC, the medical needs of women are often undermined. The main action taken towards improving this issue is the collaboration between DRC’s government and non-governmental organizations. For example, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supports the country by helping to provide basic emergency reproductive care in areas that lack it the most. Additionally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has made commitments to plans such as the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, which strives to increase the amount of children delivered by skilled personnel and increase contraception usage. DRC has also ratified Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which is a treaty considered as an international bill of rights for women.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is supportive of a worldwide decrease in maternal mortality. In terms of what should specifically be done in DRC, focusing on more urgent issues such as the alarming amount of violence would not only improve the standard of living in the country overall, but it would also improve maternal health indirectly. Developing solutions to violence this nation would benefit its women greatly. DRC is currently interested in aligning with the United States and France.

Country: Russian Federation
Delegate Name: Abby Grocki

The pressing issues involved in maternal healthcare are affecting women worldwide everyday. For women, maternal health includes the periods in time during a pregnancy, at childbirth, and during postnatal care. At any point during these stages could a woman suffer from serious complications without the help of medical care. 800 are women dying every day, and thousands with serious injuries resulted from the lack of quality maternal healthcare. Some of the factors leading to this could pertain to blood loss, infection, high blood pressure, and unsafe abortions. This committee must find a way to provide quality healthcare to these women to create a more equal state.

Maternal healthcare in Russia has overseen numerous changes especially during the past two decades. In 2012, Russia began registering births in a way to increase completeness and quality of possible future assessments. In addition new medical care systems have been introduced, designed to give women a 3-level form of care during the three stages of pregnancy. Hospitals have also changed the use of resources to work in patients in an environment suitable during the stages of pregnancy. However, Russia’s maternal health recently hit a low during the year of 2020. The spike in the maternal death rate about tripled in one year when it reached 34.5 per 100 thousand live births. There are approximately 5.7 specialists per 10,000 women, along with 8.1 midwives per 10,000 women. As of right now abortion in Russia is a legal option up to 12 weeks and in special cases during later periods. All these factors come into major connections with how well the nation’s healthcare for these women can be.

Russia does not wish to interfere with the national sovereignty of any other nation through the resolution process of improving maternal health. Russia would also be interested in proposing more specialist education to increase the ratio of specialists per patient to increase quality of care and time spent with each patient. In addition, looking at all the factors that cause serious injuries or even death to women in maternal health, the UN women can find ways to counteract some of the outcomes like blood pressure, infection, and blood loss by finding better ways to keep the environment hygienic while also using precise, safe practices. Russia looks forward to working with China, U.S., France, UK, and North Korea.

Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Vivienne Grzelak

In Turkey, the health of mothers has rapidly improved over the past 50 years. The mortality rate of Turkish mothers from 1974 to 1995 has decreased by 53%. Although this is good the mortality rate amongst rural infants and mothers remains higher than those of urban mothers and infants. This could be caused by the fact that rural mothers are less likely to get prenatal care than urban mothers. A study found that 37% of mothers did not get prenatal care and 24% of births were not assisted. The lack of assistance and care these mothers received in rural areas has led to higher mortality rates among mothers and children than in urbanized areas.

Unplanned pregnancies have also had dire effects on mothers compared to planned pregnancies. Unplanned pregnancies had higher chances of physical problems, lower hemoglobin levels, and a more increased chance of postpartum depression. It was also shown that mothers whose pregnancies were unplanned had significantly worse relationships with their spouses after finding out they were pregnant. The rate of unplanned pregnancy is high in Turkey and is a key factor in maternal mortality rates. Maternal mortality and unplanned pregnancies are parallel.

In Turkey, 3.5% of people ages 19 and younger have children, 1.5% below the age of 15 are married, and 0.2% have children before the age of 15. As low as those percentages are, it is still bad that children are having kids. This is prohibiting girls from an already underdeveloped country from attending school. Since these girls cannot attend school they will not be able to advance to get good jobs as they get older.

Maternal health in Turkey is a serious problem as of right now. With unplanned pregnancies, adolescent pregnancies, and the fact that rural mothers are less prioritized than urban mothers, maternal health is a serious problem. Other countries like Nigeria also have serious issues when it comes to maternal health. If other countries like the United States were to help with maternal health in Turkey then maybe rural mothers would gain more health care and more sex education would be made for teens to educate those on the effects of pregnancy.

Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Annabelle Dyck

Many countries struggle to provide general health care to their citizens, but maternal health care seems to be the most challenging battle. Mother mortality rates have decreased over the years yet it is still a concern as the goal is zero deaths. In developing countries, the lack of resources and money are the leading factors of insufficient maternal health services. In many cases, mothers do not have the education or budget to visit a doctor or clinic before, during, and after pregnancy. When a mother dies, the chance of the newborn surviving childhood is half of what it was.
The Republic of the Philippines has taken past and current actions to improve maternal health. The United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNFPA) has worked with the Department of Health (DOH) to create the Philippines National Safe Motherhood Program (NSMAP). This program has worked to provide access to health assistance for all women. It has become important to educate and inform women about sexual and reproductive education. There has also been action to equalize the use of maternal healthcare in poorer and richer households. In 2011, Universal Health Care (UHC) was formed in the Philippines, but there were still equality issues. Low-income women still had a higher chance of pregnancy complications and sometimes death.
The Philippines would like to improve women’s health, especially maternal health. Policies from 2008 have shown an improvement in health insurance coverage for all socioeconomic brackets, but there is still inequality for lower-income mothers. They would like to make health services available for all Filipinos. More education about pregnancies and motherhood would decrease the maternal mortality rate which is currently 121 per 1,000 births. It would be recommended to create more organizations to deploy health supplies to pregnant women and mothers. The Philippines would like to work with other Eastern Asia countries that struggle with the same issues. They also would consider allying with the United States of America. Their goal is to bring more awareness of maternal health to every socioeconomic class.

Country: Guatemala
Delegate Name: Ananya Arulmurugan

Women Committee
Maternal Health
Guatemala
Ananya Arulmurugan
Forest Hills Eastern High School

Over 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths occur in developing countries. These deaths can be prevented and should be at top priority. As per MDG 5, the goal is to reduce maternal mortality rate by 75%. Since 1990, it has declined by 40%. In the UN summit of 2010, a campaign was launched called Every Woman, Every Child. The UN also implemented a joint programme in the Central African Republic,Chad, Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Niger, and Togo that makes links between violence against women and maternal health more prominent.
In 2005, the Guatemalan government worked to reduce high mortality rates by strengthening the extension of the coverage program. Many positive results have been observed, including mortality rates falling from 3.2% to 1.24%, Institutional deliveries increasing from 22% to 42%, and the percentage of children struggling with malnutrition went from73% to 60%. Women dying in childbirth in Guatemala generally die at home, and have lesser access to healthcare. The indigenous woman there are twice as likely to die from childbirth as non-indigenous woman are due to discrimination and lack of quality maternal care. Going forward, Guatemala will also invest 100 million USD to improve health care, and reduce maternal mortality rates. Guatemala overall has the highest maternal mortality rates in Latin America.
Guatemala advocates for a policy to make healthcare more equally available for everyone. Most maternal deaths are a result of inaccessible healthcare. Making healthcare more obtainable service will further the goal made by the UN to reduce mortality rates by 75%. Guatemala also recognizes the importance of an unbiased view in hospitals and wants to improve the treatment of indigenous women in these areas.

Country: Nigeria
Delegate Name: Katherine Petersburg

Delegate: Kate Petersburg
Country: Nigeria
Committee: UN Women
Topic: Improving Maternal Health
The maternal mortality rates around the world are unacceptably high. In 2017 about 295,000 women died during and after childbirth. About 94% of those deaths happened in places where they had little to no resources and could have been prevented. Just Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia accounted for about 86% or 254 000 of global maternal deaths in 2017. For adolescent girls, under 15 years old the risk of maternal mortality is highest and complications or mishaps in pregnancy and childbirth are higher among adolescent girls in the age range of 10 to 19. The major complications that account for almost 75% of all maternal deaths in the world are severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy, complications from delivery, and unsafe abortions. There are means of prevention these causes such as injecting oxytocins immediately after childbirth to reduce the risk of bleeding or to prevent infection you can simply practice good hygiene and watch out for early signs of infection. Women simply are just not informed enough and don’t have the access to the health care they need.
Nigeria has about 58,000 maternal deaths a year, accounting for 19% globally, so if you put that into perspective at least 800 women die for every 100,000 live births. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners have helped Nigeria develop and form guidelines to help policies on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. In fact, records show that between 2000 and 2015 the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria had gone down from 1,170 deaths to 814 deaths per 100,000 live births, or a 30.4% decrease. The WHO also with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has helped Nigeria with the Quality, Equity, and Dignity (QED) network. One of the main reasons Nigeria has such high maternal mortality rates is based on certain cultural practices. These cultural practices can affect their maternal well being and the well-being of their child. Another issue affecting maternal health is the poor infrastructure, systemic failure, and inability to access health care throughout Nigeria. And the main challenge pregnant and nursing women are facing out of the three is that of poor organizations and the inability to access maternal health services.
There are many ways to address the issue involving women’s maternal health such as simply improving access to health care and improving the qualifications of medical staff. This is important because Nigeria has very low accessibility to health care and many of the nurses in the health facilities are under qualified. There also needs to be awareness of how the facilities can help maternal health and why people really need to utilize them. There are many women in Nigeria who don’t get the help they need because they have been taught that it is better for them to give birth at home. One such example is located in Northern Nigeria. Puddah is very common and it is where women are isolated and encouraged to give birth at home. In many of these cases, they believe that allowing any outsider to help with delivery is disrespectful. Because of this even in places where healthcare is free many women chose to give birth at home. There is a plan put in place to hopefully help with maternal health and Nigeria’s plan for the future is to locate and identify the supply and demand factors that are responsible for the use and the non-use of primary health care for maternal health in certain communities in Edo State, Nigeria. Nigeria then plans to use this information to help figure out ways to improve women’s maternal health. Countries that would work well with Nigeria are Ghana, Benin, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea.

Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Delaney Parkin

Improving maternal healthcare has been a main topic in the UN Women committee for a long time. More than 800 women die each day from pregnancy and birth complications, and many are injured as well. The most common causes of maternal mortality are issues that can be resolved from quality healthcare, such as blood loss, high blood pressure, and infection. These are all problems that can be solved with access to quality healthcare, which is a problem in many areas. Almost 94% of maternal deaths occur in low-income areas that lack quality healthcare. This matters, because it impacts the lives of women and their families, around the globe. Many women are suffering from the lack of proper maternal healthcare. To help this issue, the UN Women hosted the CSW’s 2011 session on the elimination of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and the empowerment of women. The committee is working to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Germany has a very good maternal healthcare system in place right now. Their current mortality ratio is 7/100,000 live births, and their infant mortality rate is 3/100,000 live births. Germany has one of the highest ranked maternal healthcare systems in the world. Prenatal care in Germany is based on a nationwide standardized program of care for pregnant women, that includes health counseling and support, early detection of diseases and risks for the mother and child. Prenatal care in Germany includes medical and psychological assistance in all pregnancies. In Germany, mothers also receive blood testing, clinical examinations, and analysis of their medical history during pregnancy. Germany created the Consolidation of the Federal Act on Maternity Protection in 1997, which protects women in the workforce during and after their pregnancy, and helps to protect and create standards surrounding maternal healthcare. In 2017, Germany also passed the German Maternity Protection Act, which looks to help women during, and after their pregnancy.

Germany plans to help provide data and healthcare structure protocol for other countries, to help increase the quality of healthcare systems around the world. Germany plans to contribute as much information to the subject as possible, as the subject of maternal health is very important to the country. Germany will also continue to enforce its current laws regarding maternal healthcare, as well as look for more ways to improve the maternal health in their country as well as worldwide maternal health. Germany will most likely work with other countries who have advanced, high quality maternal healthcare systems. These countries may include Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and France.

Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Shriya Reddy

United Nations Women
Improving Maternal Health
The Republic of South Africa
Shriya Reddy
Forest Hills Eastern

Maternal injury and mortality rates are increasing every day and are left unaddressed. Globally, 3 billion newborns die each year and there are 2.6 million stillbirths, with Africa accounting for half of both numbers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the main causes of maternal deaths are severe bleeding after birth, post-child birth infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

In the Republic of South Africa, for every 1,000 live births, about five women die during pregnancy or within 2 months after childbirth. Although South Africa has had significant progress in improving maternal health, most maternal deaths are preventable. Many lives of women can be saved through maternal health care services. Skilled care before, during, and after childbirth can save not only the lives of women but the lives of their newborn babies. WHOreports that in high-income countries, virtually all women have at least four antenatal care visits, are attended by a skilled health worker during childbirth and receive postpartum care. WHOreports that the maternal mortality ratio in developing countries is 230 women per 100,000 births versus 16 women per 100,000 in developed countries. Poverty fuels maternal mortality, experts say, which is why death rates are higher in poor countries than in rich ones.

The Republic of South Africa urges developed nations to work together with developing countries to raise awareness and money. Developing countries need workers to take care of mothers throughout childbirth. Reducing maternal mortality requires a comprehensive approach to women’s reproductive health, starting with family planning and access to contraception. Another key factor in reducing maternal mortality is to provide skilled attendants at delivery and access to hospital treatments. All countries should develop or expand existing programs and initiatives designed to raise awareness about maternal health. Countries should also empower women. The lower status of women and girls often translates into less education, which means they often do not know where to access maternal healthcare or seek remedies when they are denied care or their rights are otherwise violated. It is also essential that men are educated about women’s fundamental human rights, including their rights to access health services. Since there is more power in some countries, they can help mothers in need and can potentially save the lives of many.

Country: Canada
Delegate Name: Kate Risley

The World Health Organization defines maternal health as the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and during the postpartum period. Hundreds of women around the world die due to maternal health complications every day. Approximately 99% of these deaths occur in developing nations. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable by increasing access to healthcare in these nations. The delegation of Canada recognizes the need for this increased access to healthcare and is willing to help provide resources to developing nations with the goal of decreasing the global maternal mortality rate.

According to the CDC, the main reasons women are often unable to receive needed healthcare to save their lives during maternal health complications are poverty, distance to facilities, lack of information, and inadequate and poor quality services. Canada has taken action to combat these issues in previous policies, such as supporting the world health organization’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and adolescent’s health which aims to minimize the amount of maternal deaths by 2030 and ensure women around the world have access to reproductive healthcare. Canada also supports the UN’s International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights which recognizes the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Additionally, Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy guaranteed an investment of 3.5 billion dollars from 2015-2020 to assist with bettering the health of women in developing nations–650 million of that specifically going towards reproductive health matters. Canada has also been a big supporter of efforts such as family planning 2020 and the Ouagadougou Partnership, which help with family planning in developing countries, mainly in Africa. Also, Canada ensures access to safe and legal abortion for all its citizens, and encourages other countries to do the same to reduce the amount unsafe abortions, which lead to maternal deaths.

In this conference, Canada would like to find more ways to decrease maternal mortality rates worldwide, specifically in developing countries. Canada’s ideal resolution would address the factors that the CDC states contribute most highly to preventable deaths relating to maternal health complications, some of these being poverty, distance, to facilities, and lack of information. Canada is willing to negotiate with countries that share the goal of reducing maternal mortality rates, such as Sweden and Denmark. These two countries have kept their maternal mortality rate very low at about 4 deaths/100,000 births. Canada is also willing to negotiate with countries in need of increased access to healthcare in order to deal with their high maternal mortality rates, such as South Sudan and many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Canada has already made efforts to work to improve public health in these countries in need through its dedication to the Global Care alliance.

Country: Spain
Delegate Name: Aastha Patel

UN Women
Improving Maternal Health
Kingdom of Spain
Aastha Patel
Forest Hills Eastern

Improving the well-being of women during their childbearing years is vital. Despite the significant progress in the last two decades regarding maternal health, many women still lack adequate healthcare. About 295,000 women died during or after pregnancy and childbirth in 2017. With access to quality healthcare, most maternal deaths are preventable. As a result of the lack of quality healthcare, women in developing nations are affected to a greater extent. Developing countries continue to account for 99 percent of all deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia account for 87 percent of global maternal deaths, corresponding to 313,000 deaths. In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman’s risk of dying from preventable or treatable complications of pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 31, compared to 1 in 4300 in the developed regions Additionally, many women and girls are systematically denied access to health care due to gender discrimination, poverty, distance from health facilities, and lack of information.

The Kingdom of Spain has made numerous efforts to improve maternal health care. Healthcare in Spain is free for all residents who work and live in the country and Spain’s Social Security System pays for maternal healthcare services. We have relatively high medical contact with pregnant women regarding healthcare. There are more antenatal tests, scans, and interventions during childbirth than in other countries. Spain’s maternal mortality is 4 deaths per 100,000 births. A reason for such a low mortality rate is that women can access information regarding pregnancy and maternal clinics and hospitals without traveling far.

To ensure that all women have access to high-quality maternity care, it is imperative to address all the factors that contribute to this issue. Some factors include access to a healthcare provider, skilled care during childbirth, and care and support during postpartum. It is also vital to address ways to reduce disease and infections before, during, and after birth. Spain is willing to support any country through financial aid and requests other nations, who are financially stable, to donate money toward organizations such as Maternal, Infant, and Child Health and The Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, who work toward improving maternal health around the world, especially in developing countries. Spain urges nations to donate vaccines and medication to reduce diseases and infections to new mothers and newborns. The goal of ending preventable maternal deaths must remain a top priority for the international community.

Position Papers for GLIMUN 2022 will appear above this line, with the newest being at the top.