Of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), MDG 4 on child mortality and MDG 5 on maternal health are making the slowest progress. With only five years until the 2015 deadline, women Speakers of Parliament are joining forces to combat child mortality and protect maternal health.

On the eve of the 3rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, 23 women Speakers met in Bern at the Swiss Parliament to explore the links between gender equality and women’s health. They found that the main challenges were the need to enforce the law, beef up poor resources and weak political will, and grapple with discriminatory stereotypes and mentalities. The outcome of their discussions was the Bern Initiative for Global Parliamentary Action on Maternal and Child Health.

The Bern text began by referring to facts on the ground. Every minute of every day, one woman dies and 30 suffer long-lasting injury or illness from preventable pregnancy-related causes and complications, including unsafe abortion. 17 children die from preventable causes. Most such deaths can be prevented through adequate policies, laws and funding. The women Speakers therefore proposed to take all opportunities to:

• Advocate the development or strengthening of gender-equitable national health action plans and ensure that the three pillars that all health systems need to support maternal and newborn health are addressed: family planning, skilled care during delivery, and emergency care;
• Review and, where required, enact legislation with the objective of ensuring a national legislative framework that is aligned with international treaties, does not discriminate against women and girls, ensures their effective access to care regardless of their means, protects women from all forms of gender-based violence and children from abuse, violence and neglect;
• Hold debates and dialogues in parliament on women’s and children’s health before the national budget is drafted and submitted to parliament for adoption, as well as when the budget is considered and debated in parliament;
• Commission reports on the impact the budget will have on the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5; work to introduce gender-sensitive budgeting so that all members of parliament can know how the national budget affects men and women and meet their needs;
• Advocate fulfilment of international official development aid commitments, ensure that all official international aid, particularly towards the health sector, is provided through the national budget adopted by parliament and, for parliaments in donor countries, monitor their country's international development aid from this perspective;
• Monitor the implementation of the budget from the perspective of MDGs 4 and 5, enlist the support of the national audit institutions in this effort, make sure that data and information on maternal and child health is collected, and work to establish indicators to assess results;
• Undertake visits to facilities in the country, in particular in remote rural areas and the poorest parts of the country, and hold public hearings in parliament with the participation of women and children to assess the impact of health legislation, policies and budgets; and
• Promote women's empowerment through education and access to resources, sensitization of men and boys, including through the school curriculum, on equality and women’s rights, and enhancing women participation in politics and decision-making.