Tackling Universal Access to Maternal Health and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Europe

Held during Women Deliver 2016 , the working dinner co-hosted by the Alliance for Maternal Health Equality brought together key stakeholders including policy makers, civil society organisations and industry to make a commitment for the greater wellbeing of women in Europe. We were grateful to have the support and the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, a long-term maternal and newborn health advocate.

The event revealed that a multi-stakeholder partnership can really make a difference, generating recommendations at policy level on the one hand, and on the other finding practical and concrete solutions on how to improve maternal health and SRHR in Europe and implement the SDGs from a European perspective, with a view to generating concrete policy commitment. The outcomes of the dinner fed into the European Caucus held during Women Deliver and included:

• Evidence based policies needed to level the playing field for maternal health and SRHR in Europe
• Harmonized indicators on a European scale, for access to maternal health and SRHR
• Equitable access to maternal health and SRHR in European health systems for vulnerable groups (migrants, minorities, disabled, underage mothers)
• Personalised care (continuity of care) before, during and after pregnancy
• Innovative solutions through digital tools

There is a need for both data (indicators) and a register of experiences. Together they can be used to create truly efficient long-term policies that will be of benefit to women. It’s clear that discussions around indicators and standards are complex, but by using them to kick-start the political discussion, progress can be made.

In terms of caring for vulnerable minorities, monitoring is required to fully understand the obstacles that these groups are facing when trying to access services linked to maternal health. This needs to be considered within the context of Europe, where health remains a national competence.

Next steps:

• Contribute to a roadmap to ensure equitable and universal access to maternal healthcare along the wellbeing continuum
• Health systems performance measurement
• The cross-border dimension – how access to maternal healthcare and health systems performance affects migrant and marginalised populations

New Maternal Care Taskforce to Focus on Tech-Enabled Partnerships & Solutions

Top players from the tech, satellite communications, and pharma sectors, including Microsoft, UBER, SES, MSD for Mothers, Maternity Foundation and UCB, and representatives from international organisations such as UNFPA and IOM, all met in Brussels during Safe Motherhood Week.

They explored ways in which to co­-develop disruptive solutions through technology that will generate impact and value for mothers, parents and children today. The consortium of stakeholders committed to a global ecosystem approach to tackling maternal care issues, in order to ensure scalability of their initiatives and empowerment. This will be the main focus of our activities in 2017.