Addressing Disparities in the U.S. for Maternal Health and Rights

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By: Kathleen McDonald, Independent Consultant; Natalie Ramm, Communications Coordinator, Maternal Health Task Force, Women and Health Initiative

While much global attention has focused on the 99% of maternal deaths that occur in low- and middle-income countries, the U.S. is one of the few countries where the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has actually risen over the past decade. More troubling are the inconsistencies between ethnic and socioeconomic populations. According to Amnesty International, an African-American woman is nearly four times as likely to die as a white woman during birth… read more

Call for Posts: How a Woman-Centered Agenda Can Make Universal Health Coverage More Than a Mantra

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By: Kathleen McDonald, Independent Consultant; Katie Millar, Technical Writer, Women and Health Initiative, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Stacy Griswold, Senior Project Coordinator, University Research Co., LLC and Center for Human Services

As momentum builds towards the unveiling of the post-2015 agenda, the global health community has its eye on universal health coverage (UHC) as a priority for operationalizing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The issue at hand is not whether UHC is achievable, but is ensuring that UHC researchers, implementers, and policy-makers collaborate to provide rich evidence to improve and ensure quality health care for all. In order to facilitate this collaboration, the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) and USAID|TRAction hosted the session, Woman-Centered Care as the Engine for Universal Health Coverage, at the Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Cape Town, South Africa on September 30, 2014.
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