Successful leadership: Country actions for maternal, newborn and child health
Authors/Editors: The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Publication date: 2008
Language: English
Number of pages: 17
Overview
Investing in health – particularly the health of mothers and young children – is a vital part of social and economic development. Two of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concern maternal, newborn and child health:
- Goal 4 is to reduce the mortality rate of children under the age of five.
- Goal 5 is to reduce the mortality rate of mothers and to achieve universal access to reproductive health.
However, despite progress towards achieving these goals in some areas, we are behind schedule. The world has just seven more years in which to achieve these goals. To get back on track we urgently need to address the health of women and young children.
This document celebrates success stories from countries with high maternal, newborn and child mortality, and shows specific actions taken towards achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on maternal, newborn and child health.
The following success stories are not a comprehensive assessment of the progress made by individual countries, but demonstrate the importance of five factors:
- Successful Political Leadership
- Sound Health Policies
- Effective Financing
- Strong Health Systems
- Action to Achieve Equity