UNICEF presents new study results

18:01 07/09/2010 » Society

UNICEF presents new study results

The global community can save millions of lives by investing first in the most disadvantaged children and communities, according to a new UNICEF study released today. Such an approach would also address the widening disparities that are accompanying progress toward the MDGs.

According to UNICEF press office, the new findings are presented in two publications: Narrowing the Gaps to Meet the Goals and Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity, UNICEF’s signature data compendium. While great progress is being made in international efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals, much more needs to be done over the next five years.

By comparing the effectiveness of different strategies for delivering critical health interventions to those in greatest need, the study found that targeting to the poorest and most disadvantaged children could save more lives per US $1 million spent than the current path.

Key findings of the UNICEF study include: an equity-focused approach improves returns on investment, averting many more child and maternal deaths and episodes of stunting than the alternative. Using the equity approach, a US $1 million investment in reducing under-five deaths in a low-income, high-mortality country would avert an estimated 60% more deaths than the current approach. Because national burdens of disease, ill health and illiteracy are concentrated in the most impoverished child populations, providing these children with essential services can greatly accelerate progress towards the MDGs and reduce disparities within nations.

The UNICEF reports are being released in conjunction with a report by Save the Children, "A Fair Chance at Life: Why Equity Matters for Children," which focuses on MDG 4, reducing under-5 mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015.
 

Source: Panorama.am

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