HRC/Eldis Key Issues guide on maternal, newborn and child health
- launched for World Health Day 7 April 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Make every mother and child count" is the slogan of World
Health Day 2005. This year's World Health Report calls for a new
momentum to address and improve maternal, neonatal and child
health. Every year 10 million children die, 4 million of these
in the first four weeks of life (the neonatal period).
Simple cost-effective interventions exist which could save up to
3 million of these newborns - but do not reach those most in
need. In the same 4 weeks after birth the majority of 0.5 millon
maternal deaths occur, more than half without access to skilled
care.
Policy tensions exist between maternal health and child health,
and between clinical and community-based approaches. Who matters
most - the mother or the child? Is skilled care the only answer
and what happens while coverage is still low?
These conflicts are explored in a new Key Issues page on mater-
nal, newborn and child health now available on the HRC/Eldis
Health Resource Guide. This clear and concise guide outlines the
key policy debates, and examines what action is needed to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals on maternal and child
health. Written by experts in the field, the guide proposes a
win-win solution which will benefit mothers, babies and chil-
dren, while contributing to stronger health systems.
The guide can be accessed at www.eldis.org/health/MNCH.htm
Fiona Williams
Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK
Tel: +44-1273-606-261
Fax: +44-1273-621-202
mailto:FionaW@ids.ac.uk