WHO/UNICEF Workshop to Review Progress and Actions to Improve Child Survival
Summary
The WHO/UNICEF Regional Child Survival Strategy was endorsed by the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in 2005 and launched in 2006 in countries with the highest burden of under-five mortality in the Region. To review progress in seven priority countries, a WHO/UNICEF Workshop to Review Progress and Actions to Improve Child Survival was held in Xi'an, China from 13 to 15 October 2009. The intention was to review achievements, best practices and challenges that remain in achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4, and to identify solutions for overcoming barriers. The workshop was jointly organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The workshop had 95 attendees. Participants included representatives of child health-related programmes in Cambodia, China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. The Secretariat included representatives of WHO and UNICEF Headquarters in Geneva and New York, the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office and the Asia-Pacific Shared Services Centre, and staff from related country offices. A number of regional and international partner agencies were also in attendance.
The objectives of the workshop were to:
(1) review progress of the implementation of the WHO/UNICEF Regional Child Survival Strategy in priority countries;
(2) share experiences and lessons learnt including best practices and barriers in accelerating actions to improve child survival; and
(3) identify key actions to scale up implementation, including ways of sustaining and expanding partnerships.
Participants reviewed the status of child health globally, regionally and in the seven countries, and the status of child health programme inputs and outputs. In small groups, participants discussed strengths, weaknesses and possible solutions to problems in main technical areas, and priority activities needed to improve coverage of key interventions. Technical updates were given in child health technical areas, and on impact assessment, costing and expenditure tracking using LiST software. The workshop was conducted as plenary sessions, small group discussions and hands-on practice using LiST software.