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To date, the achievements of the Countdown include:
- Country-by-country reports on coverage levels for 2005 in 60
selected countries showing the highest rates or numbers of deaths among
children less than five years of age;
- A major international conference in December 2005, bringing
together researchers, program managers, donors and advocates from
country, regional and international levels to review progress towards
MDGs and develop coordinated strategies related to coverage;
- Production of a report and a series of publications in The Lancet reporting on 2005 coverage levels;
- Stimulation of work in key areas associated with intervention coverage
in poor countries, including financial flows, human resources, and
political commitment;
- Identification of a cross-institutional program of work to improve
evaluation and monitoring of coverage for effective interventions in
maternal, newborn and child health;
- Activities implementation including the first country-level
Countdown in Senegal in December 2006, a policy change 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, global
initiatives including the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child
Health, the Health Metrics Network, the Global Alliance for Vaccines
and Immunization and the Norway initiative for child survival;
- The Second Countdown International Conference in April 2008,
including maternal health and bringing together Parliamentarians,
researchers, program managers, the civil society, donors and advocates
from country, regional and international levels to review progress
towards child and maternal health (MDG4 and 5, respectively) and
develop coordinated strategies related to the coverage of interventions
at the country level;
- In 2008, the number of Countdown priority countries has been raised to 68 which now account for 97% of global maternal and child deaths;
- Production of the Countdown 2008 Report (with its Executive Summary), country profiles, a series of publications in The Lancet reporting on maternal health and the coverage of interventions, fact sheets and press releases;
- Development of a Countdown to 2015 Web site;
- Establishment of a liaison with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
to mobilize and engage Parliamentarians towards more accountability in maternal and child
health and policy-making at the national level.
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