مؤسسة خيرية تخصص 1,5 مليار دولار لمنع الوفيات بين النساء الحوامل

Hello and welcome to BBC Xtra English!

Today we talk about mothers' health and we tackle a controversial subject: abortion.

The Gates Foundation, set up by Microsoft's founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, announced that they will give an extra US$ 1,5 billion over the next five years to help prevent deaths amongst pregnant women and new mothers.

But campaigners say that a further US$ 12 billion are needed every year for real success in meeting what is the 5th Millennium Development Goal established by the United Nations (UN) in 2000.

It was revealed in the conference "Women Deliver", hosted recently in Washington, that as many as 350,000 women die as a result of complications during pregnancy or childbirth but many of those deaths are preventable. Often these complications are basic medical problems, such as haemorrhage or infections.

Governments are under pressure to increase their spending on maternal care, according BBC reporter Jane Reaper, who sent a report from the recent "Women Deliver" conference in Washington.

British singer and activist Annie Lennox was recently appointed Ambassador for UNAIDS. She said that the amount of money needed to save people's lives is not much in the global context and help the poor is a "moral imperative".

"We're living in such a divided planet, you know, (where we have) the inequity between the Western world and the people who are living in the trap of poverty", says Lennox.

There might be sympathy for tackling poverty but abortion - another issue linked to mothers' health - proved to be a divisive issue in the conference "Women Deliver".

The Gates Foundation confirmed that its money will not be used to fund terminations but Pro-Choice campaigners find that very regrettable.

What do you think of this story? Write to us in English!
ما رأيك في هذه القصة؟ اكتب لنا بالإنجليزية

tackle
يتناول أو يعالج
prevent
منع
pregnant women
النساء الحوامل
childbirth
الولادة
haemorrhage
نزيف
moral imperative
ضرورة اخلاقية أو واجب أخلاقي
trap
فخ
divisive issue
قضية خلافية
terminations
انهاء
regrettable
مؤسف