Make every mother and child count: key findings of The World Health Report 2005.

• Author: Manuel, Annick

Children are the future of society and mothers are guardians of that future. However, each year 3.3 million babies are stillborn, about 4 million die within 28 days of coming into the world and about 6.6 million children die before their fifth birthday. Maternal deaths also continue unabated--the annual total stands at 529,000 deaths--often sudden and unpredicted, which occur during pregnancy, at birth or shortly after. The irony is that these deaths are largely avoidable.

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The World Health Report 2005-Make every mother and child count examines why these deaths continue to occur on such a scale and how the annual toll can be reduced. It states that interventions already exist to save the lives of millions of mothers and children. It also argues that maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) should constitute the core of the health entitlements, protected and funded through public funds and social health insurance systems.

Humanitarian crises, pervasive poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic have all compounded the effects of economic downturns and the health workforce crisis. With widespread exclusion from care and growing inequalities, progress calls for massively strengthened health systems. Unless efforts are stepped up radically, there is little hope of eliminating avoidable maternal and child mortality in all countries.

With the advancement of technology, antenatal care is a major success story. However, more can be made of the considerable potential of such care by emphasizing other effective health programmes and interventions, such as the treatment or prevention of HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and malaria, and also family planning initiatives. A case in point is how societies face up to the problem of the many millions of unintended, mistimed and unwanted pregnancies. There remains a large unmet need for contraception, as well as for more and better information and education. There is also a real need to facilitate access to safe and responsive services during and after abortions.

Attending to all 136 million births every year is one of the major challenges that face the world's health systems. For optimum safety, every woman needs professional, skilled care when giving birth. A woman should also be able to give birth in an appropriate environment that is close to where she lives and that respects her birthing culture. Such care can best be provided by a...