BERLIN – The survival of 17,000 children and 800 mothers is at stake every day if leaders and heads of states do not take decisive action at the G7 summit in Germany, Save the Children, an NGO, has warned.
This is contained in a statement by the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ahead of the 41st G7 Summit scheduled to take place at Schloss Elmau, Germany on June 7 and June 8.
“We have the end of preventable maternal and child deaths by 2030 within sight.
“But, it is critical for G7 leaders to make ambitious political and financial commitments this year to help end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths for good.
“G7 leaders must send a clear signal ahead of the Financing for Development (FFD) conference in July in Addis Ababa and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September in New York.
“They have to send these clear signals by endorsing these goals or we risk stalling vital progress,’’ the statement quotes Julia Schilling, Advocacy Manager, Save the Children, as saying.
“Inspite of the fact that the world has halved the number of preventable child deaths since 1990, an estimated 6.3 million children under five years and 289,000 women still die from preventable diseases and complications every single year.
“Recent Save the Children research shows that far too many countries fall short of the basic resources and services needed to provide access to even rudimentary healthcare, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable.
“The study found that only 16 of the 75 developing countries reviewed met the 86 dollars annual target per person needed to deliver an essential package of health services.
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“Germany, by contrast, spends 3,572 dollars per person every year.’’
“The Ebola crisis has been a wake-up call, even before the outbreak, Liberia had just one health worker for every 3,472 people and only 51 doctors for the whole country.
“By contrast, the U.K. has one health worker for every 88 people and Germany one health worker for every 65 people,’’ the statement said.
According to the statement, there is need to support countries in building sustainable and resilient health systems, particularly those devastated by Ebola.
“There is also need to work towards universal health coverage and accelerate progress towards the six globally agreed World Health Assembly nutrition targets.
“In addition, there is need to ensure that funding gaps are closed by both donors and national governments, including by tackling tax avoidance.
“The G7 leaders must also ensure that the post-2015 framework will be financed, monitored and implemented in every country, for all people,’’ it added.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in other researches, Save the Children has also discovered large gaps in maternal and child survival rates within cities as well as between countries and regions. (NAN)
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