Countdown to 2015 for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival

Advocacy to parliamentarians

One of the advocacy activities of the Countdown to 2015 is to sensitize parliamentarians to the issues of maternal, newborn and child health and mobilize their engagement.  Therefore, increasing parliamentarians’ political accountability remains crucial.  This can be achieved by: Developing and implementing a joint activity plan between the Countdown to 2015 and the Inter-Parliamentary Union in selected countries; Establishing a coordinated Countdown to 2015 strategy among partners to enhance parliamentarian outreach in developing and donor nations; Defining criteria for measuring progress towards parliamentarians' accountability to fulfil their roles to: REPRESENT LEGISLATE OVERSEE BUDGET ADVOCATE Developing a handbook for parliamentarians to highlight their roles in tackling maternal, newborn and child health issues in their respective countries; Having speakers/parliamentarians to report at the Inter-Parliamentary Union's Assemblies on the country progress achieved.