Three Boeing 747 crashed this morning: there are no survivors THERE WERE ONLY PREGNANT WOMEN ON BOARD This is something that happens every day of the year… 1,500 mothers die during their pregnancy every day in the world, either while in labour or immediately following childbirth. These are the world figures concerning the maternal mortality rate: 550,000 women die of complications in pregnancy or during childbirth every year. 99% of them live in a developing country. What can we do? Ask the developing countries to declare as priorities : the education of pregnant women and their family circles, the distribution of anti-anaemic medication, the scheduling of at least one prenatal examination the transport of women experiencing difficulties in childbirth to medical centres - Ask the pharmaceutical laboratories to give a little of their time, of their competence and of their profits to offer iron tablets which enable to compensate for anaemia in pregnancy Help the public and private hospital services in developed countries, who accept to train the health service personnel of whom the developing countries are in need. Facilitate the taking part in humanitarian missions organised by the developing countries of those members of the health service personnel who wish to do so Accepting such a slaughter is intolerable. Reducing it depends on us, on each and every one of us. L’Union Professionnelle Internationale des Gynécologues et Obstétriciens (The International Professional Union of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians) (UPIGO) has made it its mission to lead a maternal mortality prevention policy in the developing countries by organising and coordinating gynaecologist-obstetrician missions in Africa. The UPIGO and the SYNGOF are committing themselves to gathering in applications from health service professionals and also organising a collection of donations from the general public and industrialists to finance these actions. The UPIGO and the SYNGOF are offering the World Health Organisation (WHO) their means of action to achieve this. L’Union Professionnelle Internationale des Gynécologues et Obstétriciens The International Professional Union of Gynaecologists and Obstricians (UPIGO), founded in 1953, was the first organisation to be created in the aim of uniting gynaecologist-obstetricians in the world, with a view to a concerted study of the conditions of training, approval and practice of the speciality. The UPIGO is an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) recognised by the Council of Europe. Its role extends to all the ethical and socio-political problems of gynaecology and obstetrics. It has 24 member countries, coming from Europe and Africa Le Syndicat National des Gynécologues et Obstétriciens de France (SYNGOF),The National Union of French Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (SYNGOF) and member of UPIGO has itself 2,500 members. The SYNGOF is the union that represents the medical gynaecologists and the gynaecologist-obstetricians in France, in both the public and the private sector. Dr Guy-Marie COUSIN SYNGOF President www.syngof.fr Dr Raymond BELAICHE UPIGO President – Tél. : 04 67 92 06 21 www.upigo.org