Women Deliver

Women Deliver is a global advocacy organization focused on improving maternal health, which works to generate political commitment and financial investment to fulfill the related Millennium Development Goal 5. The organization is based in New York, and its work covers a number of areas including access to a healthy diet, clean water and sanitation, health services, and appropriate education during pregnancy and childbirth. It is targeted towards reducing maternal mortality and increasing access to reproductive health.

History

Women Deliver was founded by Jill Sheffield in 2007, and launched at the Women Deliver conference in London in October 2007.

On June 7 to June 9, 2010, Women Deliver hosted a second global conference in Washington, D.C., drawing nearly 3,500 attendees from 146 countries.

Women Deliver's third global conference, Women Deliver 2013, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 28-30, 2013, with over 4,500 participants from 149 countries.

The fourth Women Deliver's global conference was held in Copenhagen from 16-19 May 2016, following the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The conference's focus was on implementing the SDGs as they relate to girls and women, with a specific emphasis on health - in particular maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights - and the inter-connections with gender equality, education, environment, and economic empowerment.

The 2019 conference was held in Vancouver, Canada on 2-6 June. The sixth conference was held on 17-20 July 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Controversy

In 2020 the organization issued a public apology after some staff spoke out about a culture of racism; they also launched an internal investigation to look at claims of a 'white savior complex', 'white faux feminism' and toxic cliquish behavior. The investigation was completed four months later and noted that no one single person was responsible for the "challenging" environment; one staff member called this a 'slap in the face' to junior and mid-level staff. The then-president Katja Iversen resigned and the group issued a commitment to change the working environment.

Publications

• Focus on 5: Women's Health and the MDGs (translations available)
• Why It's the Right Time: Moving on Reproductive Health Goals by Focusing on Adolescent Girls
• Targeting poverty and gender inequality to improve maternal health
• Unpacking Climate Insights from WD2023 to Drive COP28 Action