Norway’s MDG 4 & 5 initiative
15/08/2008 //
Norway’s MDG 4 & 5 initiative and its general child and maternal health efforts are multifaceted, integrating maternal, newborn and child health programmes. They focus on the need to provide “a continuum of care”. The tools used to reach the MDG targets range from building sustainabl health systems, providing vaccines and clean water, expanding education for girls, the empowerment of women, to establishing international alliances and partnerships.
Some highlights of the initiative:
- Cooperation and alliances with other donor countries, organisations and private foundations such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), The Measles Initiative and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB & Malaria (GFATM).
- For many years Norway has been one of the main donors of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF.
- Health programs constitute 10 – 15 % of the Norwegian development assistance budget. Two thirds of this is channelled via international programs such as GAVI and different UN agencies.
- Support for research both in Norway and internationally into new and cheaper vaccines. An example of this is the Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Norway, four other nations and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new initiative at the beginning of 2007 to promote the development of life-saving vaccines.
Known as the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for Pneumococcal Vaccines, the new $1.5 billion initiative targets pneumococcal disease, one of the most devastating health problems facing developing countries.
AMC creates incentives for manufacturers to invest in vaccine development.
- Providing access to contraception and adequate reproductive health services is essential for women. The importance of developing systems for health service delivery and focussing on health personal development cannot be underestimated. Mozambique and Malawi have a close cooperation with Norway in this sphere.
- HIV/AIDS related work, especially in Africa, has an impact on child/mother health both in the short and the long term.
- The expansion of vaccination campaigns. The importance of such programmes is illustrated by the campaign against measles. It is one of the most cost effective public health interventions on record. Three out of four children are now protected against measles, yet in areas not reached by the campaign half a million children die each year, and others are left deaf or blind.
- The office of the Prime Minister ensures that the issue of child and maternal health is promoted in international forums. Norway, the United Kingdom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are united in formulating a Global Business Plan to save the lives of children – both to secure more donor funding and securing better health care delivery.
- A Global Business Plan, on the initiative of the Prime Minister of Norway together with other world leaders, is being developed for an intensified effort using current mechanisms to accelerate progress towards UN Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. It will promote effective country-led action to achieve results at the national, district and community levels. Results are key to raising the necessary additional funding, not just for international aid but also for national health budgets.
Norway Tanzania Partnership Initiative