There are now an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths per year, according to UN partners/AFP-File
NEW YORK, Sep 23 – The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health has received about $20 billion in new money, according to a new report from The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).
The report, “The PMNCH 2012 Report: Analyzing Progress on Commitments to The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health,” shows that of this $20 billion, about $10 billion has already been spent.
Commitments to the Global Strategy come from 220 partners; 98 of these are expressed in financial terms, including 27 from low- and middle-income countries.
The Global Strategy, launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon two years ago, aims to save the lives of 16 million women and young children in the world’s 49 poorest countries by 2015.
Although the numbers of deaths of women and children are falling steadily at the global level, progress is lacking in many individual countries and regions. Recent reports indicate:
There are now an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths per year, according to UN partners – a decline of nearly one-half since 1990. However, 1 in 8 births in low-income settings occurs among adolescent girls, and sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag in progress overall;
On a global level, the UN and partners estimate that child mortality has declined by 41 percent since 1990, from 12 million deaths per year to 6.9 million in 2011. However, many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are still far off-target in reducing child deaths.
“Most of the gains have come in low-income countries where more than 95 percent of maternal and child deaths occur,” says Carole Presern, Director of PMNCH and a midwife.
“Country leadership and evidence-led policy has been key to these gains. However, there is still much to do, and we can’t shy away from the remaining challenges. Everyone has a part to play, and everyone needs to think creatively about how we can really demonstrate results.”
Financial commitments of nearly $58 billion in pledges to The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health does not include the value of related policy and service delivery commitments, many of which are difficult to monetize.
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