Yesterday, UNICEF released its new State of the World’s Children report which calls for the big gap in maternal and child death rates between the developing world and industrialized countries to be addressed more aggressively. The report examines maternal mortality in developing countries and reports that too many women and children are dying of causes that could be prevented or easily treated.

In the world’s least developed countries, having a baby is among the most serious health risks for women. Every day, 1,500 women die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth – mostly in Africa and South Asia. And the younger the mother, the higher the risk: girls who have children before they turn 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20’s. While the child mortality rate in developing countries has decreased by 27% since 1995, a child born in a developing country is still 14 times more likely to die during the first month of life than a child born in a developed country. Most of these deaths are preventable. UNICEF’s Executive Director Ann Veneman states: “Progress has been made in reducing child mortality, but much more must be done especially in addressing maternal and newborn health.” Proven, cost-effective interventions exist which can save mothers’ lives and consequently, improve the chances that their children will survive too.

The barriers to bringing these interventions to the women and girls most in need are significant, but not insurmountable. The report cites weak health systems and a shortage of trained health workers as two of the biggest obstacles to reducing maternal mortality rates (and address other key health issues) in Asia and Africa. The health worker shortage is felt most acutely in Africa, which has 24% of the global disease burden but only 3% of the global health workforce. In countries where fertility rates are high and where women are not empowered to make decisions about their healthcare, these problems are compounded.

Efforts to address these problems and generate declines in maternal mortality are increasing. Just within the past five years, the number of new initiatives designed to generate new money for health systems and expand the reach of maternal and child programs have increased dramatically. Donor funding for maternal, neonatal, and child health has (more…)

As we move on to a new year in our fight against global poverty and hunger, UNICEF is introducing an innovative food supplement — “Plumpy’Doz” — to very young children in Somalia.

The brown paste supplement is made from vegetable fat, peanut butter, sugar, milk, and other nutrients, and is designed to taste good to kid. Critically, it also has a longer shelf life than previous diet supplements and doesn’t need to be mixed with water.

Three teaspoons of Plumpy’Doz three times a day provides each young child with additional energy, including fats, high-quality protein and all the essential minerals and vitamins required to ensure growth and a healthy immune system.

Other partners, such as the World Food Programme and Doctors Without Borders, have already been using the supplement, but: “this is the first time that Plumpy’Doz will be distributed on such a large scale. UNICEF is working with partners to take proactive action to not only treat but prevent malnutrition,” said Christian Balslev-Olesen, said UNICEF Somalia Representative. “By adopting this new approach, we aim to reach children before they become malnourished.”

You can read a AFP article here and statements from UNICEF here.

-Virginia Simmons

New sobering numbers on the impact of soaring food prices: the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the rising cost of food has increased the number of hungry people in the world by 122 million in 2007 and now threatens to swell the malnourished population for a decade. The number of new hungry people — the biggest increase since the department started producing the report 16 years ago — is roughly the population of Japan.

Wall Street Journal: Rising Food Costs Further Pressure World Hunger

-Steve Wilson

The food crisis has taken its harshest toll on the poorest countries, Ethiopia being one of the hardest hit.

From the Christian Science Monitor :

In this African nation, about 10 million people, more than 12 percent of the population, are now in need of emergency food aid after a drought wiped out harvests. But because grain is now twice as expensive as a year ago – if it is available at all – there is not enough food in Ethiopia to feed everyone in need.

The UN estimates that 4.6 million Ethiopians are suffering from “severe malnutrition,”, but the lack of food is so severe that foreign and domestic aid-workers need to “prioritize” who is the most needy. Some have take to weighing children on wooden scales and providing food rations to the most malnourished.

UNICEF has made an appeal for $49 million to go towards “immediate intervention” in Ethiopia. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde F. Johnson emphasized the severity of the situation:

“We talked to mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and all actors in the field. This picture was confirmed by all of them and a clear message was conveyed: there is no food. The assistance needs to be taken to scale and it has to happen urgently.”

-Betsy Avila

UNICEF announced yesterday that some progress is being made in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in children. According to UNICEF’s “Children and AIDS: Second Stocktaking Report”, significant improvements have been made in reducing rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and increasing the number of children receiving life-saving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). In 2006, 350,000 HIV-positive pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries received drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission, a 60% increase from 2005. Also in 2006, more than 125,000 HIV-positive children were receiving AIDS treatment, up 70% from the year before.

In particular, steady progress has been made in eastern and southern Africa. Two years ago, only 11% of HIV-positive pregnant women in the region were receiving drugs to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies. That number rose to 31% by 2006. The number of children receiving ARVs also rose dramatically, from 70,000 to 127,000 over the same period.

Despite this progress, the world is still far from reaching UNICEF’s target of 80% treatment coverage by 2010. “Poor geographical service reach, aggravated by weak health systems, and the fear, stigma and denial that discourage many women from being tested for HIV are significant barriers to wider coverage,” the report said.

- Jessica Warren

Our friends at Water Advocates compiled this list of upcoming World Water Day events.

Beginning Sunday, March 16 through Saturday, March 22, restaurants will invite their customers to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they would normally get for free. These donations to UNICEF will go towards improving access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, while promoting safe hygiene practices in more than 90 countries around the world. Plug in your zip code to find restaurants in your city.

World Water Day 2008 will be celebrated by the UN on Thursday, March 20. In New York you can help bring awareness to the sanitation crisis by “standing up for those that can’t sit down.”

PSI will host a World Water Day discussion about their Safe Water Programs, the successes and challenges, and the way forward on March 20 from 3:30-5:00 PM. If interested, please RSVP to akhanna@psi.org.

Celebrate World Water Day with Water For People on Friday, March 21. Raffles and speakers-including Amy Hart – Filmmaker, WATER FIRST-will make the evening one to remember.

If in Louisville, KY, join Edge Outreach on March 21, 2008 for a night of music, water and film. Join speakers and hear stories of what is being done for those without water and sanitation.

The DC Environmental Film Festival will have several water movies showing on World Water Day March 22. There is also a panel of water experts at 4:00 PM that day from Water Advocates, the Global Water Challenge, Natural Resources Defense Council and ConservationStrategy.

Join the Global Water Challenge, Water Advocates and others at the Student Movement for Real Change event on March 22: “Water is Life: Youth Leading Change on World Water Day”.

In 2007, 69 cities across the United States passed resolutions acknowledging March 22 as World Water Day. Join those interested in promoting World Water Day in a variety of events across the country.

WaterAid America in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History present a panel discussion exploring the burden unsafe water and sanitation place on women, and the role women can play in water and sanitation development interventions. The discussion will be held on World Water Day, March 22.

Attention runners: join in an effort to raise awareness about the global water and sanitation challenge and help build a borehole well in the Azawak Valley, Niger – sign up for a Run for Water on March 22.

The Global Health Council will hold a briefing on Capitol Hill called “The Link Between Clean Water and Health.” The briefing will be on March 26 at 12:30 PM on Capitol Hill.