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UN Underlines Importance Of Improving Children's Health

18.11.2014 11:57

The United Nations on Monday marked the fourth World Prematurity Day, stressing that the complications of preterm birth outrank all other causes as the world's number one killer of young children. "On World Prematurity Day, I urge all partners to recognize the vital importance of addressing prematurity as we strive to improve women's and children's health," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a message for the Day. "Intensifying our focus on prematurity will sustain gains in child survival, accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and help lay the groundwork for ending all preventable deaths of women and children by 2030." MDGs are a set of anti-poverty targets UN set out to be reached by the deadline of 2015. World Prematurity Day is observed on Nov. 17 each year to raise awareness of preterm birth and the concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide.

The United Nations on Monday marked the fourth World Prematurity Day, stressing that the complications of preterm birth outrank all other causes as the world's number one killer of young children.
"On World Prematurity Day, I urge all partners to recognize the vital importance of addressing prematurity as we strive to improve women's and children's health," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a message for the Day. "Intensifying our focus on prematurity will sustain gains in child survival, accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and help lay the groundwork for ending all preventable deaths of women and children by 2030." MDGs are a set of anti-poverty targets UN set out to be reached by the deadline of 2015.
World Prematurity Day is observed on Nov. 17 each year to raise awareness of preterm birth and the concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide. About 15 million babies are born preterm each year, accounting for about one in 10 of all babies born globally.
The first international awareness day for preterm birth was created by European parent organizations in 2008. It has been celebrated as World Prematurity Day since 2011.
Parent groups, families, health professionals, politicians, hospitals, organizations and other stakeholders involved in preterm birth observe this day with media campaigns, local events and other activities conducted on local, regional, national or international level to raise awareness among the public.
In 2013, World Prematurity Day was celebrated in more than 60 countries.
World Prematurity Day is part of the secretary-general's "Every Woman Every Child" initiative, which was created to advance the Millennium Goals 4 and 5, to reduce under-age-five child and maternal mortality by two thirds and three fourths, respectively. The movement, which was launched four years ago, has grown to include 300 partners and 400 financial, policy and service delivery commitments.
"Adding to the successful Every Woman Every Child movement, WHO (the World Health Organization) and partners have been working on two complementary approaches: the Every Newborn Action Plan, led by WHO and UNICEF (the UN Children's Fund) and adopted by 194 countries at the World Health Assembly this year, and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality," said Flavia Bustreo, WHO's assistant director-general for Family, Women's and Children's Health.
The two programs have articulated strategies and set targets to improve maternal and child health in the post-MDG era, Bustreo noted.
Some of the highest rates of preterm deaths are in West Africa, particularly in the countries currently dealing with the challenges of the Ebola virus.
Of the estimated 6.3 million deaths of children under the age of five last year, complications from preterm births accounted for nearly 1.1 million deaths, according to new findings published in The Lancet.
The findings come from a research team coordinated by Dr. Robert Black of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, together with WHO and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Specifically, the research found that direct complications from preterm births accounted for 965,000 deaths during the first 28 days of life, with an additional 125,000 deaths between the ages of one month and five years. Other main causes for young child deaths include pneumonia, which killed 935,000 children under five, and childbirth complications, which caused 720,000 deaths.
Research to learn why preterm births occur is now under way. The efforts, backed by 250 million U.S. dollars in new funding, involve more than 200 researchers and are expected to identify ways to prevent or alleviate the health problem within three to five years.
More than 200 countries, non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and medical and health organizations are expected to participate in the World Prematurity Day this year. And 60 countries had planned special events on prematurity and premature babies. (Cihan/Xinhua)



 
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