 ©
UNICEF/HQ06-0951/Noorani
Objectives
Achievements
2005: Countdown to 2015: Tracking
progress in child survival
The first Countdown to 2015 Conference and Report launch were held in London
in December 2005 and focussed on child survival. Coverage reports were
available for 60 countries accounting for 95% of child mortality.
 ©
UNICEF/HQ05-2129/Pirozzi
For
2008, the mandate of the Countdown to 2015 has expanded to include maternal
mortality and new partners have joined the effort.
The conference will provide a follow-up on the progress achieved in
intervention coverage for MNCH and will present country profiles with
coverage trends since 1990 for 68 countries, which cover 97% of global
maternal, newborn and child deaths. The secretariat of The Partnership for
Maternal Newborn and Child Health will coordinate the organization of this
conference, in close collaboration with the Steering Team and all interested
parties.
Objectives
The objectives of the Countdown to 2015 are:
- To summarize,
synthesize and disseminate the best and most recent information on
country-level progress in achieving high, sustained and equitable health
coverage with interventions effective in reducing mortality among
mothers, newborns and older children less than five years of age;
- To promote media
visibility for the Countdown to 2015 Report by projecting its key
messages, selected country profiles and the human face behind the data
and trend analysis;
- To raise the awareness
of key national and international decision-makers regarding the
conclusions of the Countdown to 2015 Report in a manner which will
stimulate discussion and motivate their commitment and investment;
- To provide a forum for
the development of coordinated institutional commitments to maternal,
newborn and child survival efforts.
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Achievements
To date, the achievements of the Countdown to 2015 include:
- Country-by-country
reports on coverage levels for these interventions in 60 countries
accounting for over 95% of maternal, newborn and child deaths;
- A series of
publications in The Lancet and other peer-reviewed journals, drawing
attention to the urgent need to increase investment and action to achieve
MDGs 4 and 5;
- Agreement on a small
set of indicators that can serve as landmarks for tracking coverage of a
larger set of proven MNCH interventions;
- Stimulation of
analytical research and development in key areas associated with
intervention coverage in poor countries, including financial flows,
health systems and human resources, and political commitment;
- Establishment of a
cross-institutional program of work to improve evaluation and monitoring
of coverage for effective interventions in maternal, newborn and child
health; a commitment by UNICEF to support Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys (MICS) at three- rather than five-year intervals; and a
coalescence of monitoring efforts to focus on the Countdown coverage
indicators by the United Nations;
- Initiation of national
Countdown to 2015 activities to track progress and hold relevant
stakeholders to account, such as in Senegal and Tanzania;
- Increased partnership
around aid harmonization and resource flows for MNCH, including through
the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the International
Health Partnership and the Norwegian Deliver Now for Women and
Children initiative.
The Countdown to 2015 is guided by a
Steering Team and eight Working Groups related to the topics
of country profiles: equity; health systems; human resources; financial
flows; policies; data interpretation; media, communication and advocacy;
secretariat.
All groups work towards the promotion and advocacy of intervention
coverage for maternal, newborn and child health.
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