Till de nordiska regeringarna: Prioritera mödradödlighet på MDG Summit 2010

RFSU har tillsammans med våra nordiska systerorganisationer Sex og Samfund (The Danish Family Planning Association), Sex og Politikk (The Norwegian Family Planning Association) and Väestöliitto (The Family Federation of Finland) tagit fram rekommendationer inför MDG högnivåmötet i september. Rekommendationerna skickas av respektive organisation till de nationella regeringarna och innehåller krav på att regeringarna ska arbeta för att lyfta frågan om mödradödlighet på mötet MDG Summit i September. I Sverige var mottagarna EU-minister Birgitta Ohlsson, biståndsminister Gunilla Carlsson, utrikesminister Carl Bildt, integration- och jämställdhetsminister Nyamko Sabuni samt folkhälsominister Maria Larsson.

To the Nordic governments: Show strong political will and leadership and prioritize MDG5 for the upcoming MDG Summit 2010

RFSU (The Swedish Association for Sexuality Education), Sex og Samfund (The Danish Family Planning Association), Sex og Politikk (The Norwegian Family Planning Association) and Väestöliitto (The Family Federation of Finland) urge the Nordic governments to show strong political will and leadership for the upcoming MDG Summit.

The Nordic countries have a similar approach to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and have a common history of supporting SRHR in the world and providing core SRHR services such as training of midwifes, provision of access to safe an legal abortion, youth friendly health services and contraceptives and sexuality education.

Being among the strongest supporters in the world of SRHR comes with a responsibility to take on political leadership in the world to defend and develop the status of SRHR for all.

We hope the Nordic governments will stand by their commitments and:

• Prioritize MDG5, in particular MDG5b and to speak with a unified strong voice within the EU
• •Vocally speak up for SRHR as human rights - not only as a health issue
• Point out that SRHR is key for the achievement of all MDGs and that the MDGs cannot be reached if the commitments on MDG5 is not addressed
• Promote increased funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights
• Bring up safe and legal abortions as a prerequisite for reducing maternal mortality
• Promote the SRHR of young people and meaningful youth participation
• Promote access to comprehensive sexuality education
• Give special attention to the needs of vulnerable or marginalized groups
• Ensure a gender approach throughout all MDGs and promote the involvement of boys and men