Briefing Notes

CD Malawi July2015 thumb 2logosIn addition to reports, profiles and research articles, Countdown produces Briefing Notes that present the most recent Countdown findings on specific areas of interest. These thematic or country-focused policy briefs offer evidence-based, actionable Countdown data, analysis, and charts, in a concise and straightforward format for use by advocates and policy makers. The following Countdown Briefing Notes are available for download:

  • Countdown Country Case Study Brief:Malawi, July 2015, July 2015 [128 KB]: This new briefing note, one of a series of Countdown Country Case Study Briefs, summarizes the results of a Countdown Country Case Study exploring Malawi’s successes and challenges in improving health and development among women and children. This infobrief demonstrates how Malawi’s early adaptation and effective implementation of evidence-based policies and programs enabled equitable increases in access to and quality of essential child health services. It also highlights the need going forward to focus attention and resources on improvement if newborn survival.
  • pdfCountdown Country Case Study Brief: Ethiopia, June 2015 [102 KB]: This briefing note, summarizes the results of a Countdown Country Case Study examining the reasons behind Ethiopia’s success in achieving its child survival target under MDG 4, and highlights Ethiopia’s remaining challenges in improving newborn survival, increasing coverage for essential health services, and addressing vast health inequities by reaching the poorest children.
  • pdfCountdown Country Case Study Brief: Tanzania, June 2015 [119 KB]: This brief presents summary findings, one of a series of Countdown Country Case Study Briefs, presents summary findings of a Countdown Country Case Study that explored Tanzania’s mixed progress on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. It shows the key actions that contributed to Tanzania’s dramatic progress in reducing child mortality, and highlights the important work that needs to be done to address inequities and accelerate progress in saving lives of mothers and newborns.
  • pdfMaternal & Child Nutrition in the 75 Countdown countries, November 2014 [94 kb]: In this Briefing Note, launched at the 2nd International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) in support of the Global Nutrition Report, Countdown presents important evidence on the critical importance of nutrition to maternal, newborn, and child survival and well-being. The brief shows that about 2/3 of Countdown countries still have unacceptably high levels of stunting and wasting among children under 5 years of age – particularly among the poorest children – and that nearly half of all child deaths are attributable to undernutrition. With evidence from across the Countdown countries, and from a Countdown Country Case Study in Niger, the brief shows that even the world’s poorest countries can achieve rapid and significant reductions in child deaths by implementing comprehensive breastfeeding and therapeutic feeding programs.
  • pdfCountdown Country Case Study Brief: Bangladesh , September 2014 [84 KB]: This 1-page brief, the first of a new series of Countdown Country Case Study Briefs, summarizes important lessons learned from a Countdown Country Case Study that explored Bangladesh’s success in reducing maternal mortality. It shows, through clear graphics, that – by expanding access to delivery care, increasing access to and use of family planning, educating more women and girls — Bangladesh was able to save thousands of women’s lives each year.
  • Briefing Note: RMNCH in Africa: Progress, Opportunities, Challenges, July 2013 [1.2 MB]: This expanded 6-page briefing note, prepared for the African Union’s “Abuja+12” summit and expanded for the AU’s first International Conference on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health In Africa, presents Countdown’s most recent findings related to RMNCH progress in Africa, where progress is accelerating but more commitment and action are needed to achieve MDGs 4 and 5. It summarizes coverage of key interventions across the RMNCH continuum of care; presents detailed country-by-country data on family planning and child nutrition; contrasts dramatic advances in increasing coverage for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) with much slower progress on other key interventions with the potential to save women’s and children’s lives; and includes a special 2-page section on ‘Saving Africa’s newborns: an urgent imperative.’
    • An earlier brief focused on Africa (pdfBriefing Note: Maternal and Child Survival in Africa [627 KB], July 2012), with a thematic focus on malaria, was delivered to 250 delegates, including 20 African heads of state, attending the African Leaders Malaria Alliance summit, which took place alongside the African Union heads of state meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Briefing Note: Maternal and Newborn Health: Taking Stock of Progress, October 2012: This  Briefing Note provides a summary of Countdown’s most recent findings related to maternal and newborn health, including updates on coverage of key interventions and on inequities in coverage of skilled birth attendance among the poorest and wealthiest segments of national populations. It also has a thematic focus on preterm birth — the second leading cause of death in children under age 5 — and stillbirth. This brief was prepared for distribution at the FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics, held in Rome in October 2012.
  • Briefing Note: Achieving MDGs 4 & 5 — The Financial Picture, September 2012: This Briefing Note summarizes Countdown’s most recent findings on international and domestic financial flows for maternal, newborn, and child health. It was released, in conjunction with publication of a Countdown article in The Lancet assessing progress between 2003 and 2010 in official development assistance for maternal, newborn and child health, at a high-level side event to the 2012 meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.