|
28 December, 2011
Twelve years ago, world leaders came together to sign the Millennium
Declaration. Through this act they promised to build a more
prosperous, just and peaceful world.
In
Lesotho, while significant progress has been made, performance on
poverty and health related MDGs continues to be a cause for concern
and calls for accelerated action from all stakeholders. Lesotho is
on track to achieve only two of the 8 MDGs; universal primary
education (MDG 2), gender equality and women empowerment (MDG 3). It
is off track on three MDGs and has registered slow progress on three
MDGs.
In
particular the maternal health situation is grave as the numbers of
women who die from pregnancy and child birth-related causes has
increased rapidly since 1990. Presently, one out of 32 women in
Lesotho dies of pregnancy and child birth related conditions.
Lesotho’s maternal mortality ratio is among the highest in the
region, with an estimate of 1,155 deaths per 100,000 live births in
2009. The Government of Lesotho has set a target to reduce maternal
deaths to 300 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015 but on current
evidence this is highly unlikely to be achieved. A weak health care
system, and a shortage of skilled staff and equipment pose the
greatest challenge to the reduction of child and maternal mortality.
The
situation in Lesotho is not unique as reviews of MDG progress in
various countries have revealed many successes, but also the need
for urgent, focused action. In light of this fact, in 2009 UNDP
began developing what has become known as the MDG Acceleration
Framework (MAF). This approach was developed with the active
engagement and contributions of various UN entities and development
partners, and as part of a broader MDG Breakthrough Strategy. In
short this methodology assists countries to develop their own action
plans by systematically identifying and addressing bottlenecks which
get in the way of MDG progress.
In 2011, the Government of Lesotho in conjunction
with UN was successful in its application to apply the MAF process
in the area of Maternal Health. It is expected that the process will
begin rolling out in early 2012 and the MAF will build upon existing
country knowledge and experiences, as well as policy and planning
processes. |
