UNICEF Launches State of the World's Children Report

The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF on Tuesday 16 June 2009, launched the state of the world's children report 2009.

The report was launched by the First Lady Madam Zenab Yahya Jammeh, at the Corinthian Atlantic Hotel in Banjul. The theme of this year's event was "Maternal and newborn Health".

The occasion is aimed at mobilising increased political support and financial resources for accelerated action on maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. UNICEF is calling for concerted action to reach the millions of children still excluded from health interventions.

Reducing child mortality requires the achievement of the health related Millennium Development Goals - especially poverty and hunger (MDG 1), improving maternal health (MDG 5), combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other major diseases (MDG 6) and improving water and sanitation (MDG 7).

The developing countries need to redouble their efforts to reach the MDG goal number four, which requires a two -thirds reduction in the under-five mortality rate between 1990 and 2015.