New York, September 2023 – Melinda French-Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has underscored the importance of investing in women’s healthcare, emphasizing the need for high-quality, affordable, and equitable healthcare as a means to shape a better future.
Speaking at the 2023 Goalkeepers Conference, held alongside the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York, French-Gates drew attention to the widening health disparities and declining prospects faced by women worldwide.
She pointed out that while maternal mortality is highly preventable, a grim reality persists, with 800 women succumbing to childbirth-related complications daily. Tragically, the day of giving birth is often the most perilous day for women.
French-Gates lamented the far-reaching consequences of maternal mortality, extending beyond the loss of lives to encompass long-term health issues such as heart failure, stroke, and economic hardships, including missed paychecks and lost businesses.
Highlighting the accessibility of treatments as a pivotal factor, she noted that the most common causes of maternal death, such as postpartum hemorrhage and infections, are often treatable but remain dependent on a woman’s geographical location.
“Women in Africa and South-East Asia bear a disproportionate burden, accounting for 90% of maternal deaths, totaling over 250,000 women each year—enough to fill a World Cup stadium four times over,” she revealed.
French-Gates emphasized that improving maternal health also translates to enhancing infant health and survival, fostering stronger families, vibrant communities, and more prosperous societies.
She also highlighted disparities affecting women’s health, ranging from HIV/AIDS to healthcare screening, and called for support to scale innovative solutions developed by researchers funded by the Gates Foundation.
Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Gates Foundation, echoed the call for humane interventions, emphasizing the importance of saving mothers despite political differences. He commended advancements in understanding how to save fragile lives and called for collaborative efforts to translate this knowledge into tangible progress.
Dr. Hadiza Galadanci, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Bayero University Kano, noted that Nigeria faces the highest maternal mortality rate globally. She highlighted a critical flaw in the diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhage (a leading cause of maternal death) and discussed an innovative approach to reduce bleeding by 60% through bundling multiple interventions simultaneously.
Galadanci stressed the need to scale this life-saving innovation across clinics, labor wards, and hospitals as the next crucial step.
In conclusion, she urged the world to invest in new lifesaving tools to achieve a healthier and more inclusive world, emphasizing the urgency of addressing women’s healthcare disparities and improving maternal health outcomes on a global scale.
