Members of Parliament, Save the Children mark 500 Days left to MDGs

Save the Children, Members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and Ethiopia Somali Officials as well as government and non-governmental organizations marked the 500 Days left to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets in Jig Jiga on August 18, 2014.

Speaking at the event which focused on MDGs 4 (child health) and 5 (maternal health), Honorable Mohammed Yusuf, Chair of Pastoral Affairs Standing Committee of the House, pledged to closely work with relevant Ethiopian Government institutions to make further progress in reducing maternal, newborn and child  (MNCH) mortality.

Honorable Abeba Yosef, Chair of Social Affairs Standing Committee, also called all actors to put more efforts to speed up interventions tailored to the context of regions and communities in the country in the 500 days left to MDGs deadline. She also expressed her commitment to continue working with the Ministry of Health and pastoral and other regions of the country in scaling up MNCH interventions, sharing best practices and addressing key challenges.

The event saw participants of eight MPs from four standing committees - Pastoral Affairs, Social Affairs, Women, Children and Youth Affairs and Budget and Finance Affairs, Ethiopia Somali Regional officials and parliament members as well as representatives of the United Nations Agencies and development partners.

Commending Ethiopia for achieving Goal #4 target for reducing child mortality two years ahead of schedule and leading other African nations for reducing maternal deaths, John Lundine, Deputy Country Director for Save the Children called for more interventions to sustain the progress.

“Newborn deaths now account for more than 42% of under 5 deaths in Ethiopia. To address this urgent issue, we need to continue to strengthening community based newborn services, accelerate the increase of delivery in facilities, and continue to change cultural beliefs that put the lives of children and mothers at risk,” said Lundine.

Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey shows that there are wide differences across income groups and geographic areas in terms of maternal, newborn, and child survival and health results.

“Current indicators show the need to intensify maternal, newborn and child health interventions in rural areas and particularly pastoral regions,” pointed out Lundine. “To do this, we need to support and scale-up community based programs, design and implement pastoral-appropriate strategies and programs, and increase funding and resource allocation for these efforts.”

For further information, please contact: Getachew Dibaba, Media and Campaigns Manager, Save the Children Email:Getachew.Dibaba@savethechildren.org  Tel:+251-0911-125-201