Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
18 April 2008
Cape Town — Leading global health experts, policy-makers and parliamentarians are convening here to address the urgent need for faster progress in reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths to meet internationally-agreed targets.
According to the 2008 report, 'Tracking Progress in Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival' released Wednesday, few of the 68 developing countries with 97 percent maternal and child deaths worldwide are making adequate progress to provide critical health care needed to save the lives of women, infants and children.
Parliamentarians attending the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Cape Town joined global health experts and policy makers to discuss the role they can play in accelerating action to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on reducing child and maternal mortality.
Over 10 million women and children still die each year from causes which are largely preventable and treatable. The majority of maternal and child deaths occur in Africa and South Asia, with sub-Saharan Africa increasingly bearing the global burden of mortality.
One in five children are born in sub-Saharan Africa, yet some 50 percent of all child deaths globally occur in the region, as do half of maternal deaths worldwide. In Niger, for example, women face a lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth which is as high as one in seven.
'Tracking Progress in Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival 2008 report highlights the rapid progress that many of the 68 countries are making in providing vaccinations, vitamin A supplements coverage and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to prevent major killers such as measles and malaria.
But treatment for potentially fatal illnesses and other vital health services still fail to reach the majority of women and children, according to the findings. These services are dependent on strong health systems that can provide 24-hour care.
According to the report, missed opportunities to save lives include family planning, skilled care at birth, clinical care for sick children and better nutrition. Governments and their partners must address obstacles such as weak health systems, funding shortages, and inequalities in access to care.
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So the health minister thinks this is not a race,it is,if it is you that is at risk, and the race has not even started as yet