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.
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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