New Delhi, Friday, May 5, 2006:

The Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), today, celebrated the Samarop ceremony of its successful Suprabha Ganga Yatra it had flagged off over 3 months ago on January 17, 2006. Covering 5 states, over 100 towns and an outreach of thousands of women, FOGSI has taken an important step in lighting the lamp of awareness on the issue of ‘Safe Motherhood’ and for conducting health camps in smaller towns and villages.

Maternal Mortality is the most shocking and yet the most ignored public health problem across the world. The numbers are staggering - every year approx 600,000 women die of pregnancy-related causes globally and 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries. India alone accounts for 25% of these deaths, and has the third highest maternal mortality rate at 427 per 1,00,000 births, below Timor-Leste (800) and Nepal (415) in the South-East Asia region. Even countries like Thailand and Malaysia have a lower Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) than India.

Suprabha Ganga Yatra was an intensive, nationwide effort to spread Safe Motherhood messages and practices among the rural population throughout India by educating them on Safe Motherhood in their own local languages. The objective behind the Yatra was to make rural women aware of the services that are available to them today.

According to Dr. Duru Shah, President, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India, “We are delighted with the success and the overwhelming response we received to our ‘Suprabha Ganga Yatra’ . We at FOGSI have met the objectives we set out to achieve, as a team and I would like to acknowledge the efforts of my entire team of doctors at FOGSI especially Dr. Shirin Venkat who helped to spread awareness of safe motherhood practices during the Yatra in each state and coordinators in each state. I would also like to acknowledge the excellent assistance offered by Dr. Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Director General of Nehru Yuva Kendra, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and his team. I would also like to thank Dr. Sanjiv Malik, President, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Dr. Vinay Aggarwal - Hony. Secretary, IMA for their support.

Reducing Maternal Mortality is not solely about saving women's lives, it is about increasing the general quality of care and the information mothers-to-be receive before becoming pregnant. Educating the youth, particularly young women about pregnancy management will help them and the professionals treating them, by empowering them to make responsible choices, allowing them to lead healthy lives for themselves and their children. The earlier young India is exposed to the preventive aspects of health, as well as dangers of unnatural sex, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted disease including HIV/AIDS, the faster we can recognize and achieve our economic and developmental goals and objectives required to propel India into the ‘Asian Century’. We are thankful to AstraZeneca and other corporates who have come forward to support this pioneering initiative.”

The 2400 km walkathon has 30-40 FOGSI member doctors walking 20 kms daily along the Ganges starting from Gangasagar to Gaumukh and Gangotri.

As part of the Suprabha Ganga Yatra, FOGSI member doctors have been visiting villages along the Ganges, conducting health camps for women, with a special focus on younger women, educating them about reproductive health, vaccinating young girls with Rubella vaccine in order to protect them against German measles during pregnancy, giving basic medicines, iron and calcium tablets, etc.

Doctors say lack of skilled birth attendants and absence of primary medical care centres combined with ignorance among families have resulted in India having one of the worst report cards on Maternal Mortality in the world. When a child is born, it's important to get proper care. If the baby is delivered by an unskilled person, then both the mother and child are at risk.

In a country where a majority of women are still delivering outside hospitals, India has to urgently address this situation.

“AstraZeneca has always been committed to its Safe Motherhood Campaign initiatives. I take this opportunity to acknowledge and applaud the untiring efforts of Dr Duru Shah, Dr Shirin Venkat and the rest of the team at FOGSI for the ambitious project they have successfully undertaken the past 5 months and for the invaluable work they are doing in lighting the lamp of awareness on the issue of ‘Safe Motherhood’ in helping combat and reduce maternal mortality rates in India. In FOGSI’s Suprabha Ganga Yatra, we saw a common platform that would help us reach out to our audiences in rural India. We are committed to our partnership with FOGSI in the pursuit towards our Safe Motherhood objectives in India. Needless to say, amongst all our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, the “Safe Motherhood” campaign is one that is closest to our hearts,” said Bhasker Iyer, Managing Director, AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd.

About FOGSI
FOGSI is a group of 180 Societies with a approximately 20,000 members all over the country. FOGSI was formed in 1950 when the Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of Bombay, Madras, Bengal, Ahmedabad and Punjab resolved to amalgamate themselves into the Federation. The Federation was registered and had its headquarters in Mumbai. The Federation is affiliated to the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and was a Founder Member of the same in 1954. FOGSI has been dedicated to women healthcare awareness programmes and has been a pioneer of youth programmes for several years.

About AstraZeneca
In India, AstraZeneca’s presence includes: AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited (AZPIL), the Marketing Company, with products in six major therapeutic areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Maternal Healthcare, Infection, Respiratory & Neuroscience and a world-class manufacturing unit conforming to WHO current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).

Maternal Healthcare at AstraZeneca is a special portfolio unique to India. This portfolio is aligned towards the local health issue of high maternal mortality. AstraZeneca is committed towards combating maternal mortality and making Safe Motherhood a reality for Indian mothers.

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