A new report shows that unless radical improvements in global healthcare are made in the next twelve years, an estimated 80 million children and mothers will die unnecessarily*. 80 million lives: Meeting the Millennium Development Goals in child and maternal survival (Click here to download full report (PDF, 1.8Mb)), from the Grow Up Free from Poverty coalition, reveals that if child mortality rates continue at the same pace, the lives of millions of children will be lost every year from preventable illnesses like diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The report, launched recently at HM Treasury in the presence of the Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Amos and HM Treasury Minister John Healey, investigates progress towards meeting two of the millennium development goals to reduce child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015. Worryingly it finds that, instead of meeting these targets, in many countries the decline in child and maternal mortality rates has actually stagnated or reversed, with some African countries needing another 150 years to achieve the goals at present rates.
The coalition, which includes Cafod, Tearfund and Save the Children, is calling on governments, policy makers and donors world-wide to take urgent steps to meet the international targets as they have promised. It is unacceptable that illnesses such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria remain the biggest killers in developing countries. With the right resources and policies most of these diseases are preventable, as we have seen in industrialised countries.
George Gelber, Chair of the Grow Up Coalition and Cafod’s Head of Policy said: “It is unacceptable that children continue to die from diseases that can so easily be prevented. Over the next twelve years, more than 80 million children and mothers will die [if we fail to meet these targets] - that’s roughly the equivalent of the population of the United Kingdom and New York combined**. The Grow Up coalition challenges all those with the responsibility and power to prevent these 80 million unnecessary deaths.
“While we support Gordon Brown’s call for doubling aid to tackle poverty with the International Financing Facility (IFF), we stress that not only are more resources needed, but also a careful analysis of why policies have failed in the past, and how we must implement new policies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and healthcare for all.”
Richard Weaver, Tearfund's Policy Officer said: "If policy makers are serious about eradicating poverty and achieving the MDGs then this report shows once again that the most vulnerable groups, including children, and those at the grassroots must be listened to in making policy decisions.”
As world leaders prepare to gather next week for World Bank and IMF meetings, experts from the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, DfID and civil society will be debating these issues and solutions at the launch event.
The report argues that failures in healthcare to date are the result not only of this lack of political will, but also of the imposition of healthcare policies that ignore the poor, and disadvantage women and children. It calls for a move towards a social model of healthcare, which is provided on the basis of need and equity for the poor of all ages. It also calls for developed countries to halt their recruitment drives of skilled health professionals from the developing world.
Co-author of the report, Regina Keith, Health Advisor for Save the Children said: “Most children in the developing world are dying from illnesses that also affect children here in the UK. The difference is that in the developing world, these children will die. While the responsibility for reducing the rate of child mortality should be shared globally, making it a reality must be based on locally determined priorities and not a ‘one-size fits all’ distribution of resources.”
One of the speakers at the launch will be the Rev. Agnes Mukandoli, Mothers Union Representative from Rwanda, who said: "When a woman becomes pregnant she should be able to be happy and look forward to a new life coming into the world. But in my country, as in many others, the time of birth is associated with fear because so many mothers and babies die there from things that could be prevented."
"Their lives are not lost to complicated diseases - better basic healthcare, clean water and sanitation would make a big difference. It seems that no one notices women and children dying. Are we invisible? It feels that way to us. Every minute another woman dies for no good reason. Half a million each year. We look to the powerful countries and people to stop this waste of life."
‘80 million lives’ will be launched at HM Treasury in the presence of the Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Amos and Treasury Minister John Healey as part of the global dialogue towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
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Click here for the executive summary (PDF, 55K)