First progress report on implementation of the Commission's recommendations
Translating recommendations into action:
November 2011 - June 2012
Executive summary
Two of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concerned with improving the health of women and children are the furthest from being achieved. In September 2010, in an effort to accelerate progress on MDGs 4 and 5, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, launched the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health (Global Strategy). The main goal of the Global Strategy is to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015 and accelerate progress to achieve MDGs 4 and 5.
In order to reach the goals of the Global Strategy, countries have made specific commitments to accelerate action towards the achievements of the MDGs. More than 200 commitments have been made to advance the Global Strategy. Other global initiatives and events are tackling different aspects of implementing the Global Strategy, including the Child Survival Summit (June 2012 in Washington), The Family Planning Summit (July 2012 in London) and the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children. All of these efforts contribute to the goals of the Global Strategy.
The Global Strategy called for a process to ensure global reporting, oversight and accountability on women’s and children’s health. In response, the Commission on Information and Accountability (CoIA) was convened and delivered a report, Keeping Promises, Measuring Results. The report highlights 10 ambitious yet practical recommendations to fast track results for women’s and children’s health in 75 countries, which account for 98% of all maternal and child deaths in the world. The 10 recommendations are categorized under the headings: Better information for better results; Better tracking of resources; and Better oversight of results and resources: nationally and globally.
The initiative has facilitated broad-based partnerships with more than 40 partner institutions representing technical health experts, planning and statistics specialists, health information systems and information technology experts, advocates, politicians, and the private sector. Multi-partner working groups were formed and are implementing the Commission’s recommendations based on the joint strategic workplan, which includes 11 work areas. This report represents the first progress report to the independent Expert Review Group (iERG) on implementation towards the Commission’s 10 recommendations. This report is prepared to inform the iERG for their progress report to the United Nations Secretary-General.
Of the various work areas, five are on track (or even exceeding targets), five are making progress and one recommendation has mixed progress. The first months of implementation were critical to establish processes supporting countries to develop Country Accountability Frameworks (CAFs). CAFs define priority actions for countries to improve women’s and children’s health aligned with the Commission’s recommendations. Countries are making remarkable progress and are laying the groundwork for sustainable achievements to improve women’s and children’s health. By the end of 2012, almost 75 priority countries will have draft CAFs. The 39 countries that currently have developed CAFs are at the phase of implementation to produce long-term sustainable results. To ensure commitments are met, it is critical to maintain investment and momentum from all stakeholders.
