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World Health Day 2005: 7 April
Make every mother and child count
The year 2005 is critical for maternal, newborn, and child health. Every year some 500,000 mothers die needlessly during pregnancy or in childbirth, and almost 11 million children die from preventable diseases before reaching the age of five. It is time to highlight the health crises which cause the deaths of women and young children.
Healthy mothers and children are the bedrock of prosperous communities and nations. A healthy woman is a strong woman and she is essential to her family's wellbeing and survival. Invest in children's health, and you invest in the future and a nation's wealth.
Recent estimates of the causes of child deaths to date reveal that more than 70% of the 10.6 million annual child deaths worldwide are attributable to six causes: pneumonia (19%), diarrhoea (18%), malaria (8%), neonatal sepsis or pneumonia (10%), preterm delivery (10%), and asphyxia at birth (8%).
Almost all of these deaths are in developing countries. Many could be prevented with well-known and affordable interventions, if only they were more widely available and implemented. For example, the highly successful Child Lung Health Project of Malawi, co-conducted by The Union in collaboration with the Malawi government, has reduced deaths from pneumonia in children under five by 40%.
The Union 's Child Lung Health Division provides technical assistance, education and research to improve care for children under five who suffer from acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, tuberculosis, HIV-related lung disease and asthma. In addition, The Union's efforts to treat and control tuberculosis and other lung diseases make a vital contribution to the health of women in low-income countries, where the maternal mortality rates are highest.
In establishing the Millennium Development Goals four years ago, the international community pledged to reduce maternal deaths by three quarters, and reduce child mortality by two thirds by the year 2015.
The Union is committed to child survival and has integrated the Millennium Development Goals as part of its strategy in reducing the burden of infant morbidity and mortality. At The Union, every woman and child count. On World Health Day and throughout 2005, we call on all our members and partners to highlight the magnitude of these preventable health problems that women and children face and to renew our efforts in decreasing their prevalence.
Information and resources
You will find materials, posters, graphics, photographs, videos and features on the World Health Organization website:
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2005/en
The Millennium Development Goals
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals
The Union 's Child Lung Health programme
http://www.iuatld.org/full_picture/en/about/divisions/division_child_lung_health.phtml
Reproduction of any Union documents for
commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.
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