Communication strategy framework launched to meeting challenges in health sector.

ISLAMABAD, October 05, 2009 (Balochistan Times): The Ministry of Health in partnership with Save the Children on Monday launched its National Maternal Newborn and Child Health Communication Strategy Framework and convened a meeting of key stakeholders to sensitize them on the upcoming Newborn and Child Survival (NCS) Campaign. The National Programme Manager of MNCH Program of Ministry of Health Dr. Noor Baloch informed that the NCS Pakistan was part of a global effort to address the issue of preventable deaths of children under 5. He said the Campaign will be launched under the leadership of Ministry of Health, and in partnership with other key stakeholders from the civil society with the aim of tackling the issue of newborn and child survival. He said that research shows that more than two-thirds of all newborn deaths (2.7 million out of 4 million each year) occur in just ten countries. And just four countries with large populations - India, China, Pakistan and Nigeria - account for more than half, he added. We need nothing less than a new child survival revolution and helps deliver massive reductions in child mortality, he added. He said the NCS campaign was aimed to make stakeholders accountable for performance for reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality, particularly for the poorest. He said the strategy would go a long way in achieving its goals as it had been developed through consensus among stakeholders. He said a core group of ten public and private sector members was step to guide the development of the strategy and several workshops were held to identify key areas for successful implementation of the strategy. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Amanullah Khan, Deputy Director Health said every child - no matter where or to whom they are born - has an equal right and deserves an equal chance to survive. He said it was unjustifiable that children still die from pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and other conditions that the world has both the knowledge and resources to cure. He said in 2000, the worlds leaders agreed, making a commitment to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds by 2015 in MDG 4. He said the National Maternal and Newborn Child Health Program of the Ministry of Health would serve as the focal point for this Campaign and Save the Children will provide technical support for the implementation of the campaign. In the meeting, the representatives from Lady Health Worker Programme, donors and other partners and UN agencies expressed support for making NCS campaign successful and took it as a serious effort to improve newborn and child survival opportunities. The NCS envisions a world in which every child has the right of survival, protection, development and participation. Its Goal is that Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 is achieved. This means that child mortality is reduced by two-thirds by 2015, saving the lives of more than 5 million children each year. The Strategic Objective of NCS is to increase the coverage of maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition services and ensure governments maintain these programs. Other speakers from different NGOs also spoke on the occasion, stressing the need for taking solid steps to strengthen coordination among all partners of strategy to make it a complete success.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)