World report on women's health 2000.

We should like to call the attention of our readers to the World Report on Women's Health 2006, edited by Guest Editors Dorothy Shaw and Louis G. Keith, which was published as the September issue of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (Int J Gynecol Obstet 2006; 94:207–394). The importance of this publication was highlighted in remarks made by Dr. Shaw, President of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), at the press conference to introduce the Report, on Monday, November 6, 2006, at the XVIII FIGO World Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The following are Dr. Shaw's remarks: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent a commitment of 189 member states that adopted them during the Millennium Summit in September 2000. This UN General Assembly recognized that gender equality and women's empowerment are both central to achieving sustainable development by means of combating poverty, hunger and disease. Neither reproductive nor sexual health was explicitly articulated in the original MDGs and indicators — a critical omission, as, globally, women are more disadvantaged than men. However, a clear link exists between all of the MDGs and the reproductive and sexual health of women, who cannot contribute to sustainable development, unless their right to health is met through improved access. The FIGO World Report on Women's Health 2006 addresses many issues critical to the success of the MDGs, with a focus on how partnerships have become a crucial vehicle to improve access to health for women. It is no accident that of the 21 chapters in the report, 9 of them are focused directly or indirectly on maternal mortality. A woman dies every minute from a pregnancyrelated cause and 30 more suffer serious consequences, including obstetric fistula. Millennium Goal 5 calls for a reduction of three-quarters in maternal deaths globally by 2015. The World Report focuses on the common causes: lack of human resources, one of the most serious problems; lack of a systematic approach to identifying key areas requiring attention; postpartum hemorrhage — the most common cause of maternal deaths, followed by unsafe abortion, accounting for 13% of deaths. There is a clear link between the factors that result in high maternal mortality rates. The solutions are not complex, and include access to emergency contraception, as well as modern