[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E431-E432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 2011

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in recognition of the 100th 
anniversary of International Women's Day. Created in 1911 to demand 
equality, today's International Women's Day is a reminder of all of the 
glass ceilings that have been broken in the past century. But it is 
also a day to remember how far we have left to go. Nowhere is this more 
evident than in the maternal mortality rates in some parts of the 
world. As many as one in eight women die because of childbirth related 
complications in some parts of Afghanistan. A full third of women in 
the developing world deliver without a skilled attendant present. And 
we lose approximately half a million women every year in childbirth, or 
one woman every minute.
  Pregnancy should not be a death sentence, and on this International 
Women's Day I recommit to meeting the challenges laid out in the 5th 
Millennium Development Goal (MDG). The 5th MDG states that the global 
community is committed to reducing maternal mortality rates by 75 
percent by 2015; today we are only a third of the way there, and it 
will take action from us all in order to succeed. We know how to 
prevent maternal deaths. Women need a skilled birth attendant present 
when they deliver. They need access to life-saving and inexpensive 
medications in case something goes wrong. And they need sanitary 
conditions to prevent the spread of infection. One organization in my 
district is committed to making sure that every woman has access to 
these services when they deliver.
  For nearly 40 years and in more than 150 countries, Jhpiego, an 
international health nonprofit affiliated with Johns Hopkins 
University, has worked to prevent the needless deaths of women and 
families. Working with

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health ministries, community organizations, and USAID, Jhpiego prepares 
local health care workers with the latest in maternal and newborn 
health skills, building sustainable local capacity that will stay on 
the ground long after they leave.
  Together with partner organizations, Jhpiego helped develop the 
national midwifery education program in Afghanistan that has educated 
and graduated more than 2,000 skilled midwives. When the 2010 
earthquake devastated Haiti, Jhpiego was on the ground to ensure that 
pregnant women had access to the care they needed. And, Jhpiego is 
leading the way in finding innovative solutions for the developing 
world's most pressing medical problems--like an inexpensive way to 
diagnose cervical cancer in places that lack electricity and access to 
lab tests.
  I commend the work of Jhpiego and others who are working day and 
night to end the dangers of childbirth. Childbirth is one of life's 
great moments, and together we can ensure that more women survive that 
day and live to see the 101st anniversary of International Women's Day.

                          ____________________