Goal #4Child Health
Introduction
One of the darkest characteristics of poverty is that is seems to prey on the vulnerable and defenceless. In low-income countries, one out of every 10 children dies before the age of five. In wealthier nations, this number is only one out of 143.
The Targets
Goal 4 of the Millennium Development Goals sets out by the year 2015 to:
- Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
Did You Know?
- In our world today nearly 11 million children under the age of 5 die in the world every year – well over 1,200 every hour most from easly preventable or treatable causes. (Source:Why do the Millennium Development Goals matter? Brochure)
Achieving the Goals
With the help of donor aid and UN organizations, the Eritrean government commenced an aggressive approach to reducing child mortality increasing the number of children vaccinated from 9.6% in 1991 to 76% in 2002.
The Eritrean government used the method of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI), a holistic way of looking at the life of infants and young children. Over 500 additional health workers were trained in IMCI methods to both prevent and cure diseases, focusing on the well-being of the entire child. In addition, they launched an aggressive vaccination campaign.
Even with this rapid progress, the government is not content. “We need to work very hard to reduce it even more,” said Zemui Alemu, director of the Family and Community Health Division at the Eritrean Ministry of Health.
Goal News
Senegalese Entertainer Baba Maal promoting MDG Goals 4 and 5 at an event organized by the UN Country Office to support the MDG Campaign. The event was jointly organized with the National Civil Society Consortium.(CONGAD)
Senegal launches Parliamentary MDG Committee to monitor MDG Performance. This was a join event by the UN Millennium Campaign and the UN Country Team, lead by the RC.
DAKAR (AlertNet) – African solutions to African problems is the mantra of governments across this continent. But what about the goodwill ambassadors that fly around speaking about the issues that touch Africa most deeply, should they be African too?
Just days before an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Cameroon and Senegal in Dakar, the United Nations named Senegal’s captain, Mamadou Niang, a champion of the U.N.
As cities around the world struggle to meet the basic needs of their booming populations, many are falling behind when it comes to water, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement marking World Day for Water.
“Urbanization brings opportunities for more efficient water management and improved access to drinking water and sanitation,” Ban said. “At the same time, problems are often magnified in cities,” he added.
The ‘AIDS and MDGs’ approach
“Over the past three decades, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has reminded us of the fundamental linkages between health and development more broadly.
