I must interrupt my packing and laundry chores to point you to Nicholas Kristof's excellent column in today's Times. He takes us in the maternity ward in Pakistan and explains that the baby died, because the family did not want to pay a $3 taxi ride. The grieving father says that "it is God's will… There is nothing we can do." Kristof responds with fury.

That’s incorrect. If men had uteruses,
“paternity wards” would get resources, ambulances would transport
pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and
the Group of 8 industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a
top priority. One of the most lethal forms of sex discrimination is
this systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family
planning to childbirth — so long as those who die are impoverished,
voiceless women.

Thankfully, there is the dawn of a global
movement against maternal mortality. Prime Minister Gordon Brown of
Britain and the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, are
trying to work with the United States and other countries to hold a
landmark global health session at the U.N. focusing, in part, on
maternal health. If that comes to pass, on Sept. 23, it will be a
milestone. My dream is that Barack and Michelle Obama will leap forward
and adopt this cause — and transform the prospects for so many young
women like Shazia.

I can't say more then "amen, brother" and use my blog to spread the word. Thank God, someone is covering these issues for the New York Times.

Here's more from Doctors Without Borders.