International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
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Women and children

Safeguarding the health of women and children

Approximately 12.4 million children die each year before the age of five according to the WHO. Nearly 70 per cent of these deaths occur in the developing world with the most common causes being acute respiratory infections (ARI), diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, measles and malnutrition, often in combination. More than 1,600 women die every day from pregnancy and childbirth related complications. The majority of these deaths - almost 90 per cent - occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Of all the health statistics monitored by the WHO, maternal mortality shows the largest inequality between developed and developing countries.

Improving maternal and child health is possible even in the most vulnerable communities. What is required is strong commitment. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, international agencies, and other donors must strengthen and expand efforts to respond to emerging reproductive health needs as well as safeguard maternal and child health.
With an estimated 12.4 million children dying each year before the age of five, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are comitted to improving children's health and stopping this tragic loss of life.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, through its network of National Societies, has been supporting and implementing health initiatives related to reproductive health and mother and child care for over 20 years. Most recently, 53 African National Societies, Ministries of Health, and UN agencies worked in a participatory planning process to focus Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes on the prevention and management of major public health problems including reproductive and mother and child care.

National Societies in the Americas have established a strategic alliance with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and their respective health ministries to implement the Integrated Management Childhood Illness (IMCI) package in ten countries. The Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan Red Crescent National Societies have incorporated mother and child health programmes into the network of clinics providing medical and preventive health services for communities in defined catchment areas.
Areas of action: building on comparative advantages
Experience gained by the International Federation, together with other organizations, has helped identify those interventions that require scaling up and where comparative advantages can best be leveraged. The basis for the scale up strategy is the Red Cross and Red Crescent's extensive experience in community-based first aid and its proven capacity in emergency situations to mobilize significant resources to alleviate suffering and mitigate the effects of disasters.

The Federation and its member National Societies will reinforce and broaden efforts to reduce vulnerability to maternal and childhood diseases in a variety of sustainable ways. These include:


1. Advocacy
1.1 Reproductive health in emergencies: Disasters pose particular threats to women during pregnancy, childbirth or post-partum recovery, as well as an increased risk of sexual exploitation, abuse or violence. The Federation will strengthen advocacy efforts to promote reproductive health care as a basic human right for every woman.

1.2 Female genital mutilation: National Societies efforts advocating for the implementation of laws that protect women's health and the application of human rights conventions to promote safe motherhood will be strengthened. The strong commitment by West African National Societies to combat female genital mutilation at national and community levels is an initial step in this effort.
Reproductive and maternal health education programmes are an important part of the Sudanese Red Crescent's activities to assist refugees displaced by drought in the west and war in the south.
2. Fostering youth peer education
2.1 HIV/AIDS and other sexual-transmitted infections: The Federation recently made the fight against HIV/AIDS a top priority. Many National Societies in Africa, America and Asia, using local adaptations of the Federation's generic "Action with Youth - HIV/AIDS and STD", have implemented youth peer education programmes with considerable success. The promotion and demonstration of the correct use of condoms will be integrated into information, education and communication activities as part of the scaling up. Additionally, other information components will be introduced including safe motherhood, sexual violence, family planning and adolescents' sexual health education to ensure participants are fully informed on all issues relevant to their reproductive health.


3. Immunization
3.1 Immunization as front line of defence: The best protection against measles and other vaccine preventable diseases is immunization programmes covering as large a segment of the population as possible. To better ensure total coverage, Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers participate in social mobilization efforts, verifying the immunization status of infants whenever visiting households and providing appropriate vaccine messages to caretakers. Volunteers will extend their efforts to include two additional target groups: caretakers with low literacy skills and those living in underprivileged conditions such as remote areas or urban slums.

3.2 Scaling up for global polio eradication: National Societies will work towards assuring polio vaccinations for children living in areas where the United Nations or national governments have limited access. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as part of its scale up strategy, will be an active partner in organizing the "Days of Tranquility" campaign. This initiative aims to assure that all young children in conflict-affected areas are vaccinated against polio and other preventable diseases.


4. Protecting the health of mothers and children
4.1 Promotion of breast-feeding: Breastfeeding provides infants from birth to six months with the necessary nutrition and best protection from infectious diseases. Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers will reinforce advocacy efforts to inform mothers of the benefits of breastfeeding.

4.2 Malaria prevention: Home care is particularly important in malaria vector control. Volunteers will ensure that parents are informed about malaria prevention and caring methods for infected family members. Volunteers will also promote and monitor the use of insecticide-impregnated bed nets in their community.

4.3 Improving home care management practices: The primary focus of this programme will be on training family members in basic care, first aid and support techniques. The objective is to enable them to provide initial home care to a child suffering from ARI, diarrhoeal disease, malaria, measles and/or malnutrition and determine when additional medical attend is required.



5. Emergencies
5.1 Epidemic outbreaks: The Federation has a proven track record on fighting the outbreak of diptheria and meningitis epidemics. Eastern European National Societies actively participated in fighting diphtheria outbreaks during the early 1990s. The Red Cross and Red Crescent, in partnerships with WHO and UNICEF, has also been involved in responding to meningitis outbreaks in Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan.

5.2 Reproductive health in refugee situations: Working with UNFPA and the Inter Agency Working Group (IAWG) on issues of reproductive health in emergency situations, the Federation has developed a strategy that relies essentially on the use of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) of care. It entails:
  • identifying organizations and individuals to facilitate the coordination and implementation of the MISP,

  • preventing and managing the consequences of sexual violence,

  • guaranteeing the availability of free condoms to reduce HIV transmission,

  • preventing excess neonatal and maternal morbidity and mortality, by providing clean delivery kits and the establishment of a referral system to manage obstetric emergencies,

  • planning for the provision of comprehensive RH services, integrated into Primary Health Care, as the situations permit.
The Federation is now aiming to implement this in all the refugee operations in which it is involved.



Partners
The Federation, together with its member National Societies, is committed to continuing efforts to improve the health of mothers and children in a variety of partnerships.

Currently, the Federation has cooperative agreements with WHO, PAHO, UNFPA and is part of an inter-agency working group to promote and facilitate reproductive health programees for refugees. A new phase of collaboration between the Federation, WHO and other intergovernmental organizations is underway to support Red Cross and Red Crescent efforts to scale up community awareness and mobilization activities for greater impact.

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