PHA-Exch> Significant progress in mother and child health and reduction of Malaria and HIV/AIDS deaths in poorest nations

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: HREA noreply at hrea.org


*MDGs still within reach but stronger focus on the most marginalized will be
required*

NEW YORK, 23 September 2008 – Significant progress towards reducing child
and maternal mortality is being made but to meet the Millennium Development
Goals 4,5,6, strategies aimed at reaching the world's most inaccessible,
marginalized and vulnerable populations will be required, health leaders
said today.

Ethiopia's Minister of Health and the heads of four leading global health
organisations, the GAVI Alliance, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB
and Malaria, and UNICEF said that immunisation coverage, large-scale
campaigns to prevent malaria and access to AIDS and malaria treatments have
improved in developing countries thanks to more resources, new partnerships
and technologies, stable, long-term donor support and improved coordination
among health actors.

Ethiopia's Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his country's
strong commitment to achieving the MDGs and stated that "Ethiopia is on
track to meet MDG 4" but must rely on strong donor support for its national
health plan to continue its progress.

Increasing immunisation rates are recognised as essential to achieving MDG
4, a two-thirds reduction in childhood mortality by 2015, the experts said.
Polio teeters on the edge of eradication; measles, a major killer of
children in the poorest countries, has been dramatically reduced; malaria
deaths have been cut by half in parts of Africa due to a concerted effort
and expanded access and use of insecticide-treated bed nets; and the deadly
Hib disease, a leading cause of meningitis, has been virtually eliminated in
some parts of Africa. Last year, nearly one million more people were
receiving antiretroviral therapy than in 2006, and today some three million
people living with HIV are now on treatment globally – two million in
sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the past eight years, global investments to fight malaria have
increased ten-fold and AIDS investment eight-fold. The Global Fund alone has
financed programmes worth US$11.4 billion since its creation in 2002. This
unprecedented increase in resources is already showing encouraging results
in reducing mortality and morbidity.

GAVI, a public-private alliance of major global health players has achieved
success in delivering essential childhood vaccines in the developing world.
Since its creation in 2000, GAVI's support has prevented 2.9 million future
deaths and protected 36.8 million additional children with basic vaccines.
Immunisation rates have increased to more than 70% in many countries.

"Many more people are living longer and healthier lives today thanks to
increased access to HIV treatment. This could not have happened without
substantial financial investments and improved health systems," said Dr
Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS. "The challenge now is to sustain
these gains and to ensure more equitable access for people who have been
marginalized."

"Recent statistics show that under-five mortality continued to decline in
2007," said Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director UNICEF. "Continued success in
measles and tetanus immunization rates, distribution of insecticide-treated
nets (ITN), and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV should
maintain this positive trend."

Even with these improvements, the experts agreed that to reach the MDGs and
achieve equitable distribution of public health across social, gender,
ethnic and geographic levels will be more complex and costly.

"However successful we have been so far, we still face major challenges in
ensuring vaccines reach the most vulnerable children. It's getting harder;
the distances are getting greater and, in the areas we need to reach, the
health systems are weakest. We must determine the best strategies with which
to reach those girls and boys who are still missing out on immunisation,"
said the GAVI Alliance's Executive Secretary, Dr. Julian Lob-Levyt.

"The progress in fighting malaria alone can reduce child mortality enough to
reach the MDG 4 target," Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, the Executive Director of
the Global Fund said. "However, the great progress we have seen recently
must be consolidated into lasting, sustainable progress in mother and child
healthcare."

Pointing to the lessons learned through the AIDS response, Dr. Piot said:
"Involving civil society and ensuring a rights-based approach can help
strengthen health systems and deliver results to the people."

The experts also argued that development should be led by national
priorities and a country's long-term plans.
"Altering business-as-usual and embracing a country-driven approach should
be a core principle for development agencies, donor organisations and civil
society organisations worldwide," said Lob-Levyt.

The GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunisation) is a public-private partnership of major stakeholders in
immunisation. It includes developing country and donor governments, the
World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in
both industrialised and developing countries, research and technical
agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other
philanthropists.

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing
together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN
system organizations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is
in Geneva, Switzerland—with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries.
Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through
UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS. UNAIDS' Cosponsors include
UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank.
Visit the UNAIDS Web site at www.unaids.org

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is a unique global
public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional
resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This
partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and
affected communities represents a new approach to international health
financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral
and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with
the three diseases.
To date, the Global Fund has committed US$ 11.4 billion to more than 550
programs in 136 countries to support aggressive interventions against AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria. Programs supported by the Global Fund have
provided AIDS treatment for 1.75 million people, TB treatment for 3.9
million people, and by distributing 59 million insecticide-treated bed nets
for the prevention of malaria worldwide. The Global Fund provides a quarter
of all international financing for AIDS globally and two-thirds of funding
for TB and malaria.

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help
children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The
world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF
supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality
basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from
violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary
contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

UNICEF Press release

HREA - www.hrea.org

Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international
non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the
training of activists and professionals; the development of educational
materials and programming; and community-building through on-line
technologies.
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