Countdown to 2015 for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival

The delegates--including Ministers of Health from Burundi, Central African Republic, Guatemala, Laos, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Swaziland, Yemen, Chad, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Zambia--repeatedly heard that progress is being made in some countries and some programmes, but more can and must be done.

"10 million women and children die from perfectly preventable and treatable causes.  That is more than 25,000 women and children losing their lives unnecessarily every day " said Dr Macharia Kamau, UNICEF South Africa Representative in South Africa to the Delegates. 

The opening session welcomed delegates from the health community, government leaders and parliamentarians and highlighted their role in saving maternal, newborn and child lives, and the role of Countdown partners in saving those lives.

	Ambassador Dr Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament referred to the hundreds of parliamentarians who attended the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union the previous day:  "I told them that parliamentarians and governments must lead the way.  We, parliamentarians, consider ourselves appointed as good-will ambassadors.  There are 45 thousand parliamentarians globally. If we all beat that drum – for maternal, newborn and child survival – the budgets would change.  The time is over for talking.  We need action."
	Mrs. Sarah Brown, Wife of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (message read by Catherine Taylor of the White Ribbon Alliance) "The smart politician knows that involving the people in policy-making and being responsive to their needs is the driver of improvements in the capacity, competence and performance of health systems, whether public or private. And the smart politician does this because s/he knows an essential truth – improving performance on health is a vote winner. Seven million mothers, babies and children will die of avoidable causes by this time next year. Let us put an end to failure. Let us ensure that the international development community, backed by the G8 and the United Nations, fund in-country advocacy for better mother and child health – perhaps the greatest gift our generation can pass to the next."      Statement from Mrs. Brown   [97.33 KB]
	H.E.  Dr Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang, Minister of Health, South Africa "The challenges of inequities between the North and the South continue to undermine the well-being of our populations, particularly women and children. It is necessary that this conference calls for a fair trade arrangement as highlighted in the Doha discussions, particularly with regard to opening the market for African farmers. The situation where a cow in the European Union enjoys a higher subsidy than the incomes of more than half the world's population at $2.20 a day cannot be allowed to continue."      Statement from H.E.  Dr Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang   [89.9 KB]
	Dr Francisco Songane "Our task is to take the findings of the Countdown report and translate them into action. We must work with those who hold power in countries (both rich and poor), who have the courage to make the decisions to challenge the status quo, and to guide the transformation processes necessary to accelerate progress towards the MDGs. Let us marshal a dynamic that will fast track the changes required to ensure that the world will deliver on its promise to improve the lives of all mothers, newborn and children."      Statement from Dr Francisco Songane   [113.48 KB]
	Yvonne Chaka Chaka "Let's do it for the sake of our children, for the sake of  women everywhere. Women are an ocean, nurturing and strong. When this campaign begins, you can rely on me.  This is a war we must win!"      Statement from Ms Yvonne Chaka Chaka   [222.39 KB]