Survival of 17,000 Children at Risk Every Day if G7 Leaders Fail to Take Action | WPN World People News

The survival of 17,000 children and 800 mothers is at stake every day if leaders and heads of state do not take decisive action at the 41st G7 summit in Germany this weekend, warns Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network.

“We can end millions of preventable maternal and child deaths by 2030, but it is critical for G7 leaders to make bold political and financial commitments this year to achieve that ambitious goal,” said Mark Shriver, President of Save the Children Action Network. “G7 leaders must send a clear signal ahead of the Financing for Development conference in July in Addis Ababa, and the United Nations General Assembly in September in New York, by endorsing these goals or we risk stalling vital progress.”

Despite the fact that the world has nearly halved the number of preventable maternal and child deaths since 1990, an estimated 6.3 million children under age 5 and 290,000 women still die from preventable diseases and complications every single year.

Recent Save the Children research shows that far too many countries fall short of the basic resources and services needed to provide access to even rudimentary health care, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable.

The study found that only 16 of the 75 developing countries reviewed met the U.S. $86 annual target per person needed to deliver an essential package of health services.

“The Ebola crisis has been a wake-up call - even before the outbreak, Liberia had just one health worker for every 3,472 people and only 51 doctors for the whole country.” says Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save the Children.

“We need to support countries in building sustainable and resilient health systems, particularly those devastated by Ebola; work toward universal health coverage; accelerate progress toward the six globally agreed World Health Assembly nutrition targets; and ensure that funding gaps are closed by both donors and national governments, including by tackling tax avoidance.”

“The G7 leaders must also ensure that the post-2015 framework will be financed, monitored and implemented in every country, for all people,” adds Miles.

In other research, Save the Children has also discovered large gaps in maternal and child survival rates within cities, as well as between countries and regions.

The G7 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Source: Save the Children