Jordan Times
Monday, May 8, 2006
Conference of women
leaders slated for June
AMMAN (JT) — Global women leaders will convene at the Dead Sea between June
11-13 to determine the most effective way to turn the tide on maternal and
new-born mortality and to ensure that girls everywhere have access to education.
At the gathering, entitled “Mobilising for Action,” the National Council for
Family Affairs (NCFA) and the US-based Children’s Defence Fund (CDF) will
jointly launch the Global Women’s Action Network for Children.
The conference, which will be co-hosted by the NCFA and CDF, will be held under
the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania, according to a statement from the
organisers.
Conference participants include Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former
Irish president Mary Robinson, Vital Voices CEO Melanne Verveer, Ukrainian First
Lady Kateryna Yushchenko, World Learning Partnership Executive Director Mahnaz
Afkhami and Nobel Peace laurettes Shirin Abadi and Wangari Maathai.
Whether political leaders, journalists, scholars, non-governmental activists, or
artists, these influential and inspirational women leaders will come together on
behalf of women’s rights and children’s future to mobilise global action, the
statement said.
The conference seeks to identify ways to stop a mother dying from childbirth
every minute; 60 new-born babies dying each hour from mostly preventable causes;
and a child under five dying every three seconds — and more than 10 million
dying each year.