Summer Maternal Health Conferences

Summer may be the month to quiet things down, but July is anything BUT quiet in the world of maternal health advocacy. There will be numerous events and conferences hosting some of the world’s most important thinkers and advocates of women’s health issues. Even though we won’t be able to attend every one, Every Mother Counts is excited to see what strides each of these conferences can make in confronting maternal health issues.

July 9-13: XVIII World Congress International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy (ISSHP) – Geneva, Switzerland

This conference will discuss the linkage between preeclampsia and preterm deliveries, hypertensions, and cardiovascular disease.

July 11: International Family Planning Summit – London, UK

The International Family Planning Summit is intended to change the way that family planning is viewed, supported, and funded around the world. The goal of the summit is to enable 120 million women and girls to use contraceptives by 2020, and to provide coverage for the 260 women in developing countries who are currently using contraceptives. This target goal could save 200,000 pregnant women’s lives from maternal mortality risks, and nearly 3 million infants from dying within their first year of life.

July 12: Women Thrive Worldwide’s July Gender Roundtable Event – Washington, DC

The Women Thrive Worldwide’s July Gender Roundtable Event will look more closely at the global gender gap, with experts from the World Bank, Save the Children, Plan Canada, and the United Nations Development Program.

 July 14: Groundswell: A Night For Global Health – Seattle, Washington

The focus is simple: stopping the deaths of millions of mothers and their babies who die each year in childbirth or during the first months of life. Groundswell aims to celebrate the successes in maternal health happening worldwide, as well as encouraging the Seattle community to rally to improve the health of mothers and babies. This free event will feature Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts, Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and Melinda Gates of the Gates Foundation.

July 22-27: International AIDS Conference – Washington, DC

At The International AIDS Conference to be held later this month, prominent organizations, advocates, policy makers, and leaders will convene to evaluate progress made in combatting HIV/AIDS, and strategize a course of action for the future. The Conference has produced a promotional video, which can be viewed here. AIDS 2012 is expected to convene over 20,000 delegates from 200 countries, including 2,000 media personnel. This conference will play a critical role in combatting the AIDS epidemic, and have a long-lasting effect on future policy implementation.