Each time I see this picture, it becomes more arresting.

Seventeen-year-old Bishnu, of Nepal, has just suffered a miscarriage – an event that is all too rapidly becoming a common tragedy in South Asia.

Presently, the region accounts for half of all maternal deaths throughout the world, a fact that is in part due to the lack of adequate resources and knowledge that results not only in preventable maternal deaths, but numerous children rendered motherless.

According to certain studies, these children are in turn ten times more likely than their peers to die within two years of their mothers’ deaths.

Last week, Women Deliver, an organisation dedicated to promoting awareness for the need to invest in women of developing countries, held a conference in London to discuss issues of improving women’s and newborn health, advancing human rights, and expanding financial resources.

As it enters its twentieth anniversary, the conference addressed issues as diverse as the elimination of syphilis, HIV, and ‘Outrage to Courage’.

The subjects heeded the call to address matters that are crucial the world over, yet the following quip by Fred Sai, advisor to the president of Ghana on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, best sums up the organisation and its endeavours:

Investing in women’s survival is a moral imperative, and it makes economic sense. WOMEN DELIVER will focus the world’s attention on the need for investment in women, and will compel leaders to take action.

Jill Sheffield, the President of Family Care International and Organising Partner of Women Deliver, provides additional urgency:

One in seven Afghan women will die during pregnancy, one in 2,500 in the United States, and one in 30,000 in Sweden. Avoidable? Yes! What is lacking is the political will to do the right thing for women and for the world. Over the next three days we will generate that political will.

It is regrettable that the conference was not brought to light sooner; given the organisation’s ardent efforts, however, it is likely that an equally fruitful and valuable event will be held in future.

For further information, see Women Deliver.