Lagos — Four UN agencies, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank, are working together in support of maternal and newborn health globally, according to a UNICEF report.

According to the 2009 UNICEF's State of the World's Children report, the four agencies pledged to strengthen support to countries with the highest level of maternal mortality, especially the 25 countries with the most elevated maternal mortality ratios.

"The main objective of this renewed commitment to collaborative action is to coordinate efforts at the country level and jointly raise the required resources," the report said.

It said the agencies would work with governments and civil society to conduct needed assessment and ensure that health plans were MDG-driven and performance-based.

The report also said the agencies would cost national plans and rapidly mobilise required resources, scale up quality health, especially for family planning, skilled attendance at delivery and emergency obstetrics and newborn care.

It said they would address the urgent need for skilled health workers, particularly midwives, as well as barriers to finance, especially for the poorest.

According to the report, the agencies will tackle causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, including gender inequality, girls' low access to education, particularly at the secondary level, child marriage and adolescent pregnancy.

It said WHO would provide policy, normative, research, monitoring and evaluation, while UNICEF would be in charge of financing, support to implementation, logistics and supplies, as well as monitoring and evaluation.

The UNFPA, the report said, would focus on reproductive health commodity support, support to implementation, human resources for sexual and reproductive health, while World Bank would be responsible for health financing, inclusion of maternal, newborn and child health in national development frameworks, strategic planning, investment in input for health systems, including judiciary systems and governance.