OCTOBER 12-17, 2009
INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF YOUTH ACTION
MATERNAL HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT!
Join Us in Crafting 10,000 Worry Dolls
for the 10,000 Mothers We Lose Each Week
"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life." – Nelson Mandela
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| AI Nepal's Demand Dignity Campaign launch, May 2009 |
Background
Everyone everywhere has the right to essential health care and housing, as well as to clean water, food, education, and decent work. Everyone has the right to security, both physical and economic; to freedom from discrimination; and to participation in the decisions that affect their lives. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) guarantees these rights and more.
Yet more than 60 years after the adoption of the UDHR in the aftermath of the horrors of World War II and the Great Depression, freedom from want and fear is still unrealized for millions of people living in poverty. Poverty is not merely a lack of income. It is a tangible threat to basic rights -- to housing, adequate food, clean water, and a decent standard of health care.Thousands die every day from preventable disease, contaminated water, and hunger, and those who live in poverty often lack the power to stabilize their insecurity. These are human rights violations. The fact that these violations are common does not make them acceptable.
Amnesty International's new Demand Dignity campaign combats the human rights violations that are both a cause and a consequence of poverty. In 2009-2010, the focus area of the campaign is the human rights scandal of maternal mortality, with reports on Peru, Sierra Leone and more. Globally, one woman dies every minute in pregnancy or childbirth; more than half a million women die every year. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable. As Mahmoud Fathalla, former president of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, said: "Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat. They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving." Join us as Amnesty International demands dignity for everyone, regardless of gender or income.
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| Pregant women at a materrnity waiting house in northern Sierra leone, February 2009 |
Take Action!
LEVEL 1: All AIUSA groups are asked to complete the following actions:
- Write letters to President Garcia of Peru, calling on him to live up to his commitment to fulfill the right to maternal health. Although Peru is a middle-income country, its maternal mortality rate is the second worst in South America. Low-income, rural, and indigenous women are most at risk. Peru has been a focus of the human-right-to-maternal-health community, and President Alan Garcia has promised better equity in maternal health funding. But he has yet to fulfill that promise.
» Click here for recommended text
» More about maternal mortality in Peru - Write letters to President Koroma of Sierra Leone, calling on him to implement his pledge to ensure access to maternal health care. In Sierra Leone, one out of every eight women dies in pregnancy or childbirth, the second-worst rate in the world. Under pressure from Sierra Leonean and international civil society, President Ernest Bai Koroma recently pledged to prioritize maternal health. It's up to us to hold him to that promise.
» Click here for recommended text
» More about maternal mortality in Sierra Leone
LEVEL 2: With more time and planning, your group can:
- Collect petition signatures urging the U.S. government to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Of the world's 1.3 billion poorest people, 70 percent are female. Violence against women is pervasive: one in three women worldwide will experience abuse during her lifetime. Due to lack of adequate health care, more than 530,000 women die each year from pregnancy-related complications – one every minute. CEDAW establishes international protections against these abuses. The United States is one of only eight countries that hasn't ratified CEDAW (along with Iran, Nauru, Palau, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, and Tonga). Click here for the petition and facts about the treaty.
- Craft 60 worry dolls to send a symbolic message to the Senate. Worry dolls are used in traditional Mayan culture to express concern. Around the world, 60 women die every hour in pregnancy or childbirth -- a fact that should certainly be a source of urgent and widespread worry! To symbolize our concern, we ask each group to craft at least 60 worry dolls. Altogether, we're aiming for 10,000 worry dolls, for the 10,000 mothers we lose every week. Take pictures of yourselves with the completed dolls! Click here for detailed crafting instructions.
- Send the petitions and the dolls to your AIUSA regional office. They will be delivered to the Senate, calling on them to fight discrimination against women by ratifying CEDAW.
LEVEL 3: With yet more time and planning, your group can:
- Organize a street stunt. Raise public awareness about the number of women who die in childbirth or from complications in pregnancy! Click here for ideas to get you started.
