UNICEF hails gains in African child survival; says more must be done

Several African countries have made impressive gains in child survival in recent years but much more needs to be done, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today, marking the International Day of the African Child.

“There are signs of progress across the continent and these successes must be built upon,” UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said on the occasion of the Day, the theme of which this year is “Africa Fit for Children: A Call for Accelerated Action Towards Child Survival.”

These include a “remarkable” 89 per cent drop in measles deaths in sub-Saharan Africa between 2000 and 2007, through concerted efforts by governments and international partners to boost immunization, as well as a reduction of under-five mortality rates by 40 per cent or more in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi and Niger since 1990.

Ms. Veneman credited community-based integrated health systems as an important factor in the progress that has been made thus far.

Among the essential services and practices required to avert child deaths in Africa are improved antenatal care and skilled attendance at birth, immunization against vaccine-preventable childhood diseases, and adequate nutrition, according to UNICEF.

“It is possible to meet the challenge of helping many more African children survive,” said Ms. Veneman. “The progress that has been made is measured in young lives, and more children can be saved by urgent collective action to scale up existing programmes that have proven successful.”

In a related development, UNICEF and its partners have launched a new online campaign to provide African youth with an opportunity to speak out, after a recent Gallup poll found that 30 per cent of young people aged 15 to 17 are afraid to voice their opinions.

The newly expanded and enhanced Speak Africa platform (www.speakafrica.org) will allow more of Africa’s youth to participate meaningfully and initiate debates on the critical issues affecting their continent, UNICEF said in a news release.

“One of Africa’s greatest assets is its youth. They are the ones with the energy, creativity and dynamism to transform the continent,” said Richard Morgan, UNICEF’s Director of Policy and Planning.

“Yet without the opportunity to express their ideas or participate meaningfully in the decision making process, we are neither respecting their rights nor able to fully gain from their valuable gifts.”