and women. The global partners that support A Promise Renewed coordinate their actions and advocacy through such forums as the International Health Partnership (IHP+), the H4+ (a joint effort of United Nations organizations to accelerate progress for women’s and children’s health) and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH). Since the launch of A Promise Renewed, global health partnerships have continued to build on the considerable efforts of the past decade in saving and improving child and maternal lives. •
The United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children promotes the availability, affordability, accessibility and rational use of essential commodities for the health of women and children.
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Scaling Up Nutrition unites governments, civil society, the United Nations, businesses and researchers in a global effort to curb malnutrition.
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Every Newborn, an action plan that aims to end preventable deaths, brings together a broad coalition of partners dedicated to identifying and integrating critical strategies for reproductive, maternal and child health, with the goal of saving the lives of newborns and mothers.
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The integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) proposes a cohesive approach to ending preventable deaths caused by pneumonia and diarrhoea. GAPPD promotes healthy environments, identifies practices that protect children from disease, and advocates for access to appropriate measures to prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhoea.
Focused on addressing some of the major causes of maternal and newborn mortality, these global initiatives add momentum to the multiple efforts that are already under way to save 16 million lives in the world’s 49 poorest countries by 2015, the goal outlined in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Every Woman Every Child strategy. Regional forums are essential means for mobilizing governments, civil society, the United Nations and the private sector in pursuit of the goals of A Promise Renewed. One such forum was the PMNCH-sponsored Asia-Pacific Lead-
ership and Policy Dialogue for Women’s and Children’s Health, held in Manila in November 2012. Another example was the high-level meeting on Saving the Lives of Mothers and Children, sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and held in Dubai in January 2013. A Declaration on accelerating progress on maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health was issued at this meeting; it is being followed up with detailed action plans, including cost estimates, for the 10 priority countries in the eastern Mediterranean area that have some of the highest child mortality rates found outside of subSaharan Africa. CITIZEN-LED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHILD SURVIVAL
Partnerships and movements to address specific lifethreatening diseases and conditions among children are being complemented by new or strengthened alliances among an ever-widening array of stakeholders. Civil society, faith-based groups, the private sector, academia and others are reaching out across their specific technical areas and constituencies to save the lives of children in greater numbers than ever before. One such partnership is Religions in Action, encompassing more than 300 faith leaders and more than 80 faith-based organizations that have signed the pledge for A Promise Renewed. The reach of this partnership is immense: Taken together, the leaders and organizations can potentially reach more than 260 million followers — almost 4 % of the world’s population. The partnership has also made a declaration to save and improve the lives of all children by promoting, encouraging and advocating for priority interventions and behaviours in health, nutrition, water, hygiene, sanitation and protection for children (see panel on page 36 for the full text of the declaration). Johnson and Johnson is a partner in the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), an example of how the private and public sectors can team up to help save child lives. The alliance develops mobile phone–ready SMS (text messages) that can be sent directly to mothers to educate and encourage them to take good care of their children. Messages include tips on breastfeeding and nutrition, hand-washing and malaria prevention; reminders about health appointments; and how to access oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc to treat diarrhoea, antibiotics to treat pneumonia and other essential drugs. Formed in 2011, the
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