Child and Maternal Health
Across the world, young children and pregnant women are bearing the brunt of deteriorating health systems. Every year, nearly 10 million children die before their fifth birthday, most of them from preventable or treatable causes such as measles, diarrhea, malnutrition and other ailments that more affluent countries no longer worry about. Approximately 500,000 mothers die each year from complications during child birth, and tens of millions more suffer from pregnancy related illnesses and injuries. Africa’s child mortality rate is 20 times that of the United States and its maternal mortality rate is 65 times that of the United States.
The challenge here is not a lack of technology, but a lack of access to technology. There is a shortage of health care workers, basic equipment, predictable financing and infrastructure, and a growing recognition among policymakers that global health programs must be designed in a way that strengthens access to basic neo-natal care and prevention measures like vaccines.
Evidence for Action
- Simple, cost-effective solutions exist: Proven effective solutions such as access to clean water, vaccinations and a basic healthcare package can lower the risk of childhood death by two-thirds. Most of these interventions are extremely affordable - for example, oral rehydration therapy to treat dehydrating diarrhea costs only 42 cents per dose. Investments in these prevention and treatment measures also yield high returns through economic savings. For example, every dollar spent on the diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis vaccine generates savings of $29, and $21 is generated for every dollar spent the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine.
- Previous successes demonstrate possibilities: Each year, vitamin A supplementation saves over 250,000 young lives by reducing the risk and severity of diarrhea and infections. Simple interventions for diarrhea such as oral rehydration therapy contribute annually to saving the lives of one million children. Both Bangladesh and Mexico have achieved dramatic improvements in their child survival rates and have shown that success is achievable.
- Widespread development returns gained from improving child health: Healthy children are better educated and more productive adults. For example, a 35% decrease in under-5 mortality in Bolivia was shown to increase primary school enrollment among eligible children by 30%.
When they signed on to the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, 189 countries committed to reducing child mortality rates by two-thirds and maternal mortality rates by three-quarters by 2015. Global resources have not been leveraged to reach these goals and midway to 2015, the world remains dangerously off track. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of child and maternal deaths still occur. The attention and resources mobilized around AIDS, TB and malaria in recent years, while crucial, has exacerbated the strain on health systems in Africa by redirecting scarce funding, supplies and human resources away from primary care and maternal health services. However, there is a growing consensus among policymakers that global health programs must be designed in a way that strengthens overall health systems. With leadership and commitment from developing countries and the donor community, the prognosis for mothers and young children in the developing world can be a much more hopeful one.
More Info
source: http://www.one.org/international/issues/child.html
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