NEW YORK: Media registration is now open for the Women Deliver 2013 conference, the largest meeting of the decade to focus on the health and empowerment of girls and women. This landmark event expects to draw 5,000 leaders and advocates to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from May 28-30, 2013. The 2013 conference, which will be hosted for the first time in Asia, follows Women Deliver's historic conferences previously held in London in 2007 and Washington, D.C. in 2010. Women Deliver 2013 will feature high-level plenary sessions, more than 120 concurrent sessions and ministerial and parliamentarian forums. Almost 40 organizations, including governments, multi-laterals, foundations, civil society organizations and corporations are conference sponsors. Several global leaders have already committed to speak, including: . Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and member of The Elders . Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) . Tewodros Melesse, Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) . Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America New developments to be presented at the conference will include updated data from the World Bank on the societal and economic benefits of investing in girls' and women's reproductive health. Other organizations, including The Lancet and the Guttmacher Institute, a leading think tank, will release new research on maternal and reproductive health. International organizations will announce new partnerships, programs and outcomes. “The Women Deliver conferences galvanize global attention and commitment to investing in women and girls," said Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women and honorary co-chair of the Women Deliver 2010 conference. “We know that investing in women builds healthy and dynamic societies.” Sessions at the conference will cover the most critical issues affecting the health and well-being of girls and women. Key topics of discussion will include human rights, education and empowerment, sustainability, sexual and reproductive health and rights, family planning, maternal and newborn health, faith, and young people, among others. Global leaders will also discuss the critical role of girls and women in the post-Millennium Development Goal (MDG) development framework. “In recent years, we have made great strides toward improving women's health and rights worldwide, but we can – and we must – do more," said Women Deliver Founder and President Jill Sheffield. “At Women Deliver 2013, we will ensure that girls and women can lead healthy and productive lives, no matter where in the world they live." Accredited journalists from print, broadcast and online news outlets are eligible for complimentary registration. Media attendees will have access to all conference sessions, as well as an array of on-site media facilities and activities, including a press workroom, a media forum and daily press conferences. There will also be a ‘virtual' media room where conference materials and webcasts of high-level sessions and press conferences will be available to those unable to attend in person. Women Deliver's past conferences in 2007 and 2010 generated game-changing political commitments, financial investments and on-the-ground action for MDG 5, which aims to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters and achieve universal access to reproductive health. Women Deliver 2010 drew more than 3,400 leaders from 146 countries to Washington, D.C., including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates, five UN agency heads and more than 235 media representatives.
