Advocacy
The Society of OBGYN Hospitalists stands with the World Health Organization (WHO) and strongly disagrees with the edict to withdraw the existing half a billion dollars in US support over the next twelve months. The WHO serves as a science-informed agency, free from industry bias and accountable to all member countries to effect coordinated, data-driven healthcare policy, research, and intervention. In the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, withdrawing US government funding and membership is a significant deterrent to care and cure.
As women’s health specialists, we further support the WHO’s reach and leadership in fighting sex trafficking and worldwide maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as the agency’s advocacy in promoting gender equality in healthcare, access to contraception, and identification and trauma-informed care of victims of sexual violence, among other aims. Maintaining support of these indispensable international efforts is critical to women’s health in the U.S. and worldwide.
The Society of OBGYN Hospitalists stands with our fellow organizations, local, and national leaders who oppose systemic racism. Violence and prejudice contribute to the disproportionate maternal morbidity and mortality of Black and Brown women in the United States and pose a direct threat to women’s health worldwide. As frontline, hospital-based providers of women’s healthcare, we are uniquely positioned to fight for justice and tolerance through evidence-based care, research, and policy development.
We mourn the death of George Floyd and so many others, and accept the clear demand to effect change. We acknowledge the implicit bias within all of us, and are committed to mitigating it. Black and Brown Americans are underrepresented in medicine and our own specialty. We acknowledge these disparities and dedicate ourselves to actively pursuing equity in representation and access to education.
We are committed to working toward a system that provides equitable healthcare for Black and Brown women. We are committed to making our organization more representative of the diverse women we serve. We will partner with organizations working to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality for Black and Brown women, and we will not falter.