$31m to help Bangladesh reduce maternal, neonatal deaths

FE Team | Published: June 08, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The health and well being of mothers and newborns is set to get a significant boost with UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Commission (EC) support worth $31.2 million, reports UNB.
The funding will support Bangladesh Government's "Accelerating Progress towards Maternal and Neonatal Mortality and Morbidity Reduction" project, which will be jointly implemented by the Government, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO.
In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed Thursday among the three participating UN agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO), said a press release.
UNFPA Representative Pornchai Suchitta, UNICEF Representative Louis-Georges Arsenault and acting WHO Representative Khaled Hassan signed the MoU on behalf of their agencies.
An agreement of funding was also signed between UNFPA Representative Pornchai Suchitta and acting Country Representa-tive, DFID Bangladesh Sarah Sanyahumbi on behalf of their respective organisations.
The signing took place at a local hotel where Health Adviser ASM Matiur Rahman attended as the chief guest. Health and Family Welfare Secretary Ehsan Ul Fattah was also present.
The representatives of DFID, the EC, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO, senior Bangladesh government officials and donor consortium members were also present. The project begins in July and will run for five years.
Initially, DFID and the EC will provide $8.3 million to implement the project in four districts and eventually it will be implemented in 20 districts.
Though Bangladesh has made significant progress towards the improvement of both child and maternal survival, formidable challenges still remain, particularly in implementing effective and efficacious interventions at a national level.
Maternal mortality and neonatal mortality, estimated to be 320 per 100,000 and 41 per 1000 live births, respectively, are still unacceptably high.
With the progress that the country has made in reducing mortality and morbidity from infectious causes, neonatal mortality now accounts for over 66 per cent of overall infant deaths.
The goal of this project is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in Bangladesh with an emphasis on addressing the equity issues to achieve millennium development goals (MDGs) 4 and 5.
The purpose of the project is to improve community maternal and neo-natal health (MNH) practices and the utilisation of quality MNH services, particularly among the poor and the vulnerable.
The Government of Bangladesh has reiterated its commitment to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. UN agencies, DFID and the EC are all committed to supporting the government in achieving the MDGs.