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FCI receives United Nations Award
The UN honored FCI with the 2008 Population Award in the Institutional Category on May 22, lauding FCI for its leadership, emphasis on partnership, and educational materials. Written remarks from UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, noted “Family Care International is all about cooperation” and then singled out for praise last October’s Women Deliver conference, which “generated new global commitment to reduce maternal mortality rates.” In accepting the award, FCI’s President Ann Starrs said “2008 will be the year that the fifth Millennium Development Goal, improve maternal health, begins to receive the attention it so urgently needs.” She also paid tribute to Jill Sheffield, former FCI president, and the FCI staff and its many partners and colleagues for their tireless efforts to improve maternal health. Ann Starrs is shown with Jill Sheffield, and Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of UNFPA. Click here to read Ann Starrs' speech.
FCI Urges G8 to Invest in Maternal Health
 For the first time, the Group of 8 (G-8) summit of world leaders addressed maternal, newborn, and child health (Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5). The final communiqué said: “Progress toward achieving MDGs 4 and 5 is seriously off track… the continuum of prevention and care should include a greater focus on maternal, newborn and child health. Reproductive health should be made widely accessible.” FCI’s President-Emeritus, Jill Sheffield, who attended the conference held in Japan July 7-9, expressed disappointment that the financial commitment needed to achieve MDGs 4 and 5 ($10.2B additional annual spending for maternal, newborn, and child health) was not included in the communiqué. Still, she says: “The groundwork has been laid. The door is open. We’re in. Now to take things forward - faster!” Jill Sheffield blogs on RH Reality Check from the G-8 sessions:
7 July 2008: The G8 Takes on Maternal Health -- Or Does It?
8 July 2008: The scene and the startup of the G-8 Summit
9 July 2008: With the G-8 Over, Counting Wins & Losses
FCI publications focus on how to get policies implemented
 While national laws and policies in many countries recognize the critical importance of young people’s health and rights, many of these policies not been implemented. FCI has just released Mobilising Communities on Young People’s Health and Rights: An Advocacy Toolkit for Programme Managers that carefully lays out the steps in designing and launching an advocacy strategy to ensure that existing government commitments are translated into concrete programs and services.
Mobilising Communities on Young People’s Health and Rights: An Advocacy Training Guide is a companion piece to the Toolkit. The Training Guide was developed to strengthen the skills of grassroots community-level groups, networks, and organizations to design and plan an advocacy campaign in support of young people’s health and rights.
Available in English. Visit our publications page to download.
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Unsafe abortion kills an estimated 68,000 women each year. Postabortion care is a strategy to reduce the impact of unsafe abortion by treating abortion complications and providing women with counseling and family planning methods to avoid another unwanted pregnancy. FCI is launching the French version of the Postabortion Care flipchart. This set of materials- a flipchart, client brochure, and a user’s guide- guide health care workers providing counseling and community education related to unsafe abortion in French-speaking Africa. Click 
