The Partnership Update - April 2008
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Countdown to 2015 - Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival Conference 2008, Cape Town, South Africa
Countdown participants commit to action
Cape Town 17-19 April 2008 -- The Countdown to 2015 Conference--coordinated by the Countdown Core committee representing 23 partners ended with ministers, parliamentarians and participants coming together to make a Statement of Commitment to work together to scale up global action to save some 10 million mothers and young child who die needlessly each year.
The Statement of Commitment was made by more than 500 delegates, Ministers of Health and Parliamentarians on the final day of the 2008 Cape Town "Countdown to 2015 Conference". Lauded as a key moment which brought decision-makers and health practitioners together to discuss maternal, newborn and child survival, delegates committed to re-invigorate action to reach MDG 4&5, and to meet again to continue the Countdown process in 2009 in Ethiopia with parliamentarians, and to convene another global Countdown Conference in 2010 to review progress.
The Cape Town Countdown Conference convened to assess progress in providing essential health services for women and children in the 68 developing countries which account for 97% of maternal and child deaths worldwide. Tracking Progress in Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival: The 2008 Countdown Report - was launched reporting progress being made by these focus countries to reach Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 to reduce maternal and child mortality,
A key element of the success of the conference was the attendance of 61 of the 68 focus countries, including some 14 Ministers and numerous deputies, as well as the link to the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) being held in Cape Town at the same time as the Countdown. A highlight of the Conference was the joint Special IPU/Countdown Session and the invitation by from the hosts of the next IPU Assembly - Ethiopia - to participate in the 120th IPU Assembly in April 2009 in Addis Ababa.
Read the Statement of Commitment, find the full 2008 Countdown Report, the 68 focus Country Profiles, a full selection of press releases, fact sheets, reports from the Plenary sessions, powerpoint presentations, speeches, photographs, and video clips from the 2008 Cape Town Conference on the Countdown to 2015 website.
The Lancet: Special Countdown to 2015 issue launched, London, 11 April 2008
Days before the Cape Town Countdown to 2015 Conference, The Lancet medical journal launched a special focus issue with key research articles for the 2008 Countdown to 2015 Report.
Several of the experts from the Countdown to 2015 were on hand for the press briefing held in London.