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Home » Press Center » VSI Newsroom » VSI at Women Deliver
June 10, 2010

VSI contributes to global advocacy for women’s health at Women Deliver Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. - From Monday, June 7 to Wednesday, June 9, 2010, Venture Strategies Innovations (VSI) participated in the Women Deliver 2010 Conference, a global advocacy event held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. This three day conference brought together nonprofit organizations, women’s health advocates, health care providers and politicians all devoted to improving maternal and reproductive health worldwide.  The second meeting of its kind—following up on the first such gathering in London in 2007— this year’s program emphasized the importance of “delivering solutions for girls and women,” and particularly solutions to needlessly high maternal mortality throughout many regions of the world.

On the first day of the conference, VSI’s Associate Medical Director, Dr. Nuriye Nalan Sahin-Hodoglugil presented on one potential solution for women’s health in her presentation on the role of misoprostol in treating incomplete (and often unsafe) abortion and miscarriage. Dr. Hodoglugil was an invited participant on a panel dedicated to discussing ways to improve access to post-abortion care (PAC), the internationally-endorsed package of medical and counseling services to be provided to women after experiencing complications of abortion or miscarriage. Her talk engendered great interest in expanding access to PAC services, especially among women in hard-to-reach underserved areas. VSI is working to create access to misoprostol tablets for this life-threatening condition, as well as for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage, the leading killer of mothers globally.

The Women Deliver Conference served as an unparalleled opportunity for the exchange of ideas and evidenced-based strategies to bring about the reduction in maternal mortality called for in Millennium Development Goal 5 crafted by the United Nations in 2000: 75% reduction in maternal mortality by 2015. Featured speakers included Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Melinda Gates, co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Correspondent, CNN and Christy Turlington Burns, model, CARE Advocate for Maternal Health, and documentary filmmaker.

To help raise awareness of the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth around the world, Turlington, who experienced postpartum hemorrhage herself, debuted her new documentary “No Woman, No Cry” which chronicles the stories of four pregnant women in four different world regions.  VSI’s collaborative partner in Tanzania, Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku, contributes commentary on maternal health care in Tanzania in the film.

In addition to Dr. Hodoglugil’s participation in the conference agenda, a large contingent of VSI’s US-based and international team was in attendance. VSI also hosted a booth in the exhibition hall to share information on its work creating access to misoprostol, a feasible solution that addresses two of the leading causes of maternal death, postpartum hemorrhage and incomplete abortion.