Response on Save the Children’s ‘Knit One, Save One’ campaign
November 2008
Thank you for your letter to the Prime Minister about your involvement in the Save the Children’s “Knit One, Save One” campaign and what the UK is doing to reduce child mortality in the developing world. The Prime Minister has asked me to reply as the Minister responsible for the issue raised.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate you for making the time and effort to knit hats for the campaign. I understand that over 460,000 hats so far been knitted and are being sent overseas (see note below). I recognise the important role that supporters such as yourself play in Save the Children’s campaign to highlight the tragedy of child deaths in the developing world.
I share your concern about the number of child deaths in the developing world. Although the number of under-five deaths has declined by 20%, to a new low of 9.7 million per annum in 2006, this is still far short of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of a two-thirds reduction by 2015. Because 40% of child deaths occur in the first days after birth due to a lack of any basic maternal and newborn care, the UK wants to see faster progress towards improving the health of children (MDG 4) as well as improving the health of their mothers (MDG 5). These two goals go hand in hand and we seek to improve child and maternal health.
Most child deaths are preventable and avoidable with the delivery of better health services. This is why our strategy to accelerate progress towards the maternal and child MDGs is to focus on stepping up global efforts to strengthen health systems. This is so that hospitals and health centres have well-trained doctors, nurses and midwives as well as the medicines and equipment to do their job. This means making immunisations, antibiotics and mosquito nets available for children to protect them from preventable diseases. One of the ways we are doing this is through the International Health Partnership (IHP) which aims to coordinate donor actions to build stronger health systems. It is being implemented by global health agencies led by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank initially in 8 countries. In June this year the UK Government also made a commitment to spend £6 billion on strengthening health systems and services over 7 years to 2015.
The UK also contributes to global initiatives such as the Global Fund to Fight HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria, The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and the Roll Back Malaria Campaign, which have helped revitalise interest in childhood diseases and substantially increased the resources directed towards child health.
The UK’s broader development efforts to enhance economic growth, improve basic services such as water and sanitation and education, address inequality, conflict, civil unrest, child rights and food insecurity, also have a positive impact on improving the health of children.
You will be pleased to know that the recent High-Level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals at the United Nations in New York on 25 September delivered some really important commitments on maternal, newborn and child health. These included important commitments to remove user fees for pregnant women and increased funding for family planning services. The Prime Minister also announced a Taskforce on Innovative Financing for Health Systems to help save the lives of 10 million mothers and newborns. The finance raised will help to provide over one million new health workers and ensure 400 million births take place in a good quality facility.
I feel these commitments offer real hope that the world can at last begin to make progress towards achieving MDG 5 and improve the health and save the lives of millions of mothers and their children.
I hope this is helpful.
Ivan Lewis
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development
Note - the campaign has now ended with over 550,000 hats knitted and sent to developing countries (20/11/08)
