Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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           UN-Led Partnership Spurs Health Gains for Poor Women, Kids

   by George Putic

   A United Nations-led partnership to accelerate improvements in health
   care has saved the lives of almost 2.4 million poor women and children
   since 2010 and continues to make gains, a new progress report says.

   In the nearly five years since the launch of Every Woman Every Child,
   the program has developed initiatives targeting 49 low-income
   countries, and all have recorded improvement, senior manager Nana Kuo
   told VOA before Tuesday's release of the report, [1]"Saving Lives,
   Protecting Futures."

   Kuo said those initiatives involve supporting family planning, reducing
   newborns' deaths, improving adolescent health and providing life-saving
   medicine and health services.

   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched EWEC to speed progress
   toward the health Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs.

   Since 2010, the combined efforts have aided 120,000 women, 650,000
   newborns and 1.6 million children younger than 5, Kuo said. "This
   accounts for 40 percent of those lives that could have been saved if
   the health MDGs were met by the end of 2015."

   The encouraging results come from historic levels of political and
   financial support, which grew almost 25 percent over the last five
   years. Rich and poor countries, private foundations, businesses,
   members of civil society and the U.N. itself have pledged $60 billion,
   out of which $34 billion already has been disbursed.

   Kuo said this has turned into the fastest-growing global public
   partnership in history.

   Most maternal and child deaths can be prevented with solutions that are
   both affordable and simple, providing hope that the health goals are
   attainable, she said.

   "Today, we are seeing the fastest reduction in maternal and child
   mortality, with almost 6.4 million children [fewer] dying every year
   and maternal mortality being reduced by half since 1990," she said.

   But the agenda remains unfinished, Kuo said. Work is needed to preserve
   progress and ensure that it accelerates toward the ultimate goal of
   ending all preventable maternal and child deaths within a generation.
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/un-led-partnership-spurs-health-gains
   -for-poor-women-and-kids/2674795.html

References

   1. http://everywomaneverychild.org/images/EWEC_Progress_Report_FINAL_3.pdf
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-led-partnership-spurs-health-gains-for-poor-women-and-kids/2674795.html