MARIE STOPES INTERNATIONAL

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:37): I rise today to bring attention to an organisation which is helping women in remote communities and developing countries around the world. Today I want to talk about the work of Marie Stopes International, particularly the organisation's Five by Fifteen initiative.

Five by Fifteen provides family planning and reproductive health care to women living in remote areas. The initiative was developed specifically to help meet the United Nations' fifth Millennium Development Goal for improved maternal health by 2015. The goal calls for a reduction in the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters along with universal access to reproductive health information.

Marie Stopes International was established in London in 1976 and grew out of the organisation originally set up by Dr Marie Stopes, the family planning pioneer who opened the UK's first family planning clinic in 1921. The World Health Organisation has estimated that currently only 25 to 35 per cent of women use modern day contraceptives. Last year alone there were 80 million unplanned pregnancies, 19 million of which resulted in unsafe abortions. The simple truth is that lives can be saved with family planning.

Research shows that women in isolated communities, who have consecutive pregnancies in quick succession, put themselves and their children at risk. This can result in children being born prematurely and malnourished, with low weight or anaemia. The mothers face increased risk of nutrient deficiency, physical injury and even the possibility of chronic illness or death. Tragically, there are around 530,000 pregnancy-related deaths every year around the world. A woman dies every eight minutes due to pregnancy-related complications. Tragically, their surviving infants are 10 times more likely to die before their second birthday than babies with mothers.

Many die from medical complications such as severe bleeding, infection, eclampsia, obstructed labour and unsafe abortions, all of which are entirely preventable. For every woman that has died from pregnancy complications, an additional 20 will suffer serious long-term or lifelong illness or injury. Apart from the physical risks, many are not financially capable of providing for their families, especially in some cases where women have up to 10 children or more.

It is estimated by organisations working in the field that 215 million women around the world want better access to family planning information. These 215 million women seek contraceptive choices so that they can make sure that every pregnancy is a wanted one. Unfortunately, many of these women live in isolated communities where there is no reproductive health care available. The good news is that Marie Stopes International's outreach teams can now reach more than 5,800 communities in 27 different countries. These outreach teams use any means possible to reach these isolated women. They travel by boat, motorbike, truck, bicycle, canoe, or sometimes even on foot.

Marie Stopes International provides approximately 143 million condoms, 7.1 million contraceptive pills, 779,000 contraceptive injections, 502,000 intrauterine devices and 90,000 contraceptive implants every year. Marie Stopes International estimates that its work has so far spared the world 36,000 maternal deaths, 9.3 million unwanted pregnancies and 2.6 million unsafe abortions, simply by giving women health advice and a choice of contraception.

Offering preventive measures such as contraceptives is often not sufficient. Women who fall pregnant are still at risk of infection after unsafe births. Ensuring that women have access to skilled birth attendants during the birth, and also emergency care if they experience complications, can reduce the risk of illness or possible death. In countries where abortion is legal, Marie Stopes International tries to provide high quality, safe abortion services to women who choose to have one.

Where abortion is a restricted medical service, they not only aim to provide long-term family planning methods but they also educate on safe birthing methods and provide post-abortion care for women who have either undergone an unsafe abortion or who have self-aborted. If the United Nations fifth millennium development goal is to be reached by 2015, if we are to ensure universal access to reproductive health information and a reduction in the maternal mortality ratio by 75 per cent, then we need to do whatever we can to help.

A $20 donation to Marie Stopes International can easily provide a month's worth of reproduction healthcare and contraception for 100 women around the world. Women in countries such as Papua New Guinea, China, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, the Pacific Islands and even here in remote areas of Australia, would benefit. I encourage all of my parliamentary colleagues to consider giving to this important initiative, as I have done and will continue to do.

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