Ms. Pamela Delargy, UNFPA representative in Sudan, participated in a maternal and child health meeting in Dubai. Ministers of Health and high-level representatives from 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including Sudan, met during 29-30 January 2013 to agree on approaches to saving the lives of mothers and children. Delegates agreed to urgently accelerate progress on improving maternal and child health between now and the end of 2015. They also committed to reducing the gap between current funding levels and those required if the Region is to meet Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on reducing maternal and child mortality. The meeting was co-organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
It is estimated that 923,000 children under five years old and around 39,000 women of childbearing age still die in the region every year. The vast majority of these deaths can be prevented with proven, cost-effective solutions. The meeting aimed to ensure that more women and children in the region have access to these solutions.
