African Parliaments Endorse a Resolution to Boost Maternal and Infant Health

Written by Naftali Mwaura

The legislative arm of the African Union, the Pan Africa Parliament (PAP) Wednesday urged governments to devote greater financing towards health of women and children.

In the resolution passed during the 5th session of the 2nd Pan African Parliament held on 3rd-14th October in Johanesburg, South Africa, members reiterated that matern al, newborn and infant health is critical to overall human and social development in Africa.

Health experts acknowledge that political commitment is a key catalyst towards realization of millennium development goals 4 and 5 on infant and maternal health in Sub-Sahara Africa.

African Parliaments are therefore well placed to mobilize political action and funds required to implement programs on maternal and infant health.

Rotimi Sankore,the Secretary, Africa Public Health Parliamentary Network hailed the latest endorsement and remarked “we welcome this landmark resolution by pan African parliament, which is a significant step towards African Parliamentary action to help end the tragic annual loss of an estimated 4.2 million lives of African Women and Children.”

Sankore added “the resolution strongly complements the African Union Commission-led Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), launched in 31 Countries over the last two years”.

Carole Presern, the Director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn&Child Health (PMNCH) echoed similar sentiments and stressed that “this PAP resolution demonstrates the vital and positive contribution that parliaments globally can make to saving and improving the lives of women and children, and in particular the commitment of African parliamentarians to their constituents.”

The latest resolution urge speakers of parliaments in the continent to lobby governments to increase budgetary allocation to programs related to women and childrens`health.

Likewise, the speakers are tasked with ensuring that policies are developed and implemented to embolden progress on maternal and infant health.

The resolution calls for high level parliamentary support to accelerate the implementation of a plan on policy and budget support towards health of mothers and their infants that was agreed by chairs of Finance and Budget committees of national parliaments in October 2010.

It was presented to speakers of African parliaments during their second annual conference held on 17th to 18th October, 2011.

Five senior members from each of the 54 African Union member states have pledged to work alongside speakers and relevant committees of national parliaments to implement the PAP resolution on maternal, newborn and child health.

African Union heads of States and governments as well pledged to reinvigorate efforts aimed at improving health of women and children during a high level summit held in Kampala, Uganda in July 2010.

According to a statement, the latest parliamentary resolution combines an integrated implementation of African maternal, newborn and child frameworks with the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women and Children, launched in 2010 to accelerate progress towards achieving the MDGs.

A partnership involving the Africa Public Health Parliamentary Network, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the global Partnership on Maternal Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), has worked closely with the Pan African Parliament in the lead up to this resolution.

The United Nations contend that 7.6 million children under the age of five and an estimated 350,000 women die each year from pregnancy related causes, most of which are preventable.

Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General has underscored the need for accelerated action to combat threats to women and children’s health.

He said “we must there fore do more for the newborn who succumbs to infection for want of a simple injection, and for the young boy who will never reach his full potential because of malnutrition”.

Culled from: African Science News

http://www.africasciencenews.org/en/index.php/health/63-health/191-african-parliaments-endorse-a-resolution-to-boost-maternal-and-infant-health-