Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY AND IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

 

 

« Be pragmatic and find solutions! »

Dr. Francisco Songane, former Health Minister of Mozambique, to political leaders According to the 2008 report Tracking Progress in Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival, few of the 68 developing countries that account for 97% of maternal and child deaths worldwide are making adequate progress to provide critical health care needed to save the lives of women, infants and children. In Cape Town, legislators and health experts discussed the role they can play in accelerating action to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 on reducing child and maternal mortality. For Dr. Francisco Songane, Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and former Health Minister of Mozambique, the context in which countries are operating should also be taken into consideration.

Q : What do you expect from parliamentarians?
Dr. Francisco Songane : It was important to get them informed and the IPU Assembly was a very good opportunity to provide information. It was indeed the right moment to accelerate the momentum as we were presenting the report on the analysis of progress in 68 countries at the Cape Town Assembly. Legislators will go back to their respective countries with information on how to act properly. Thanks to their influence and their authority as lawmakers and people who decide on the budget allocations, they will be in a position to monitor what their governments are doing and if the plans are implemented. Our Report also mentioned the problem of inequality and parliamentarians have to be watchful and make sure that this aspect on the provision of health care while addressing inequality is taken care of. Parliaments and governments must work together to change the situation.

Q : Concretely how can it be done?
F.S.: I suggest that legislators set up their own committee or task the committees dealing with social affairs in their respective countries to follow these issues, every year or according to the calendar of their monitoring processes. They should also see if the question of maternal and child health care, but also food for all, is addressed properly. I hope they will agree and they will come along with us. It is important that we share our findings and decide together how they can monitor progress.

Q : Health care for the most vulnerable has taken on dramatic proportions nowadays with the global financial crisis. Is financial support enough to help the most vulnerable?
F.S.: First of all, it is a question of awareness and political commitment. Money is a crucial factor to build infrastructures for example. But we know why people are dying and what to do to avoid that. We also know that in some cases the interventions are not reaching the people in need, so we have to address the issue of allocation or reallocation of resources. Wherever there is a lack of money and additional resources cannot be mobilized, we expect solidarity. But we have to put our house in order in our country first.

Q : You are a former health minister and you know that in many countries budgets allocated to social affairs are reduced. How can this problem be solved?
F.S.: My question is: if the area of health care is so important, why are we cutting the money needed? We have no basis to say that we have to cut money, we need to address it. Let's find ways of changing that attitude. We, at the Partnership, are coordinating with different institutions. One element to be brought into consideration is the context in which countries are operating, or in other words, the agreement they have with the IMF and the World Bank. The IMF has to change its attitude and address the issues of lack of resources and lack of available manpower and open up and allow countries to spend more in the social sector.

Q : Do you think that the forthcoming G8 summit in July should address these themes?
F.S.: Legislators and especially those from developed countries could ask their prime ministers to put the question of maternal, newborn and child health on the top of the agenda of the G8 Summit in Japan and ask their leaders to deliver on their previous commitment.

Q : What about developing countries?
F.S.: What is needed is the commitment of their leadership and proper allocation or reallocation of resources, not to mention support to these areas. I ask them to get the different partners in the government to work together. I tell them: be pragmatic and find solutions! We need to learn from each other. There are experiences in some countries on how pragmatism works in order to change the situation. Let's use them.

Legislators leading the change for health care

“Care for mothers, newborns and children is at the heart of human progress and a country's well-being. We are 44,098 parliamentarians globally. Can't we do something individually and collectively that can change the lives of mothers and children? We have the power. We have the voice. Do we have the courage?”, said Dr. Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, on the occasion of the IPU Assembly held in April in Cape Town, where leading global health experts, policymakers and parliamentarians convened to address the urgent need for accelerated progress to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths if internationally-agreed targets are to be met.