FACT SHEET The Reality
Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Expenditures
About 8 million children die each year – greater than the number of adults who will die from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.1, 2 Approximately 350,000 women die every year as a result of childbirth and 15 million more suffer life-long complications.2, 3 The vast majority of these deaths occur in developing countries and most are preventable. Long-term, sustained investments are needed to reduce the number of maternal and child deaths globally. It is important for governments and donors alike to fulfill their funding commitments. The current international financial crisis threatens to slow progress in reducing maternal and child mortality, and may even contribute to increased deaths in some countries.4
www.globalhealth.org
Global Need The Consensus for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health estimates that US$30 billion is needed to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 by 2015.5 Costs per year during this period range from 2.5 billion in 2009 to $5.5 billion in 2015. This estimate was calculated by the High Level Task Force on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems (HLTF) and endorsed by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), a global alliance of over 3000 MNCH organizations. The US$30 billion provides an additional US$11.82 billion for maternal health, US$8.43 for family planning, US$2.53 billion for the management of childhood illnesses, and US$6.27 billion for immunization.6 This investment would avert up to 322,000 maternal deaths, 4 million child and infant deaths, and 11 million unwanted births.4 Global Expenditures In 2007, total official development assistance for maternal, newborn and child health was $4.1 billion. This represents a 16 percent increase in ODA funding from 2006 and nearly double funding levels in 2003. Family planning, however, received less funding in 2007 than 2003. In 2007, funding for maternal, newborn and child health combined represents just under one-third (31 percent) of total ODA health spending.7 U.S. Expenditures The United States Government is one of the major donors to international assistance for maternal, newborn and child health programs.8 In May 2009, the Obama Administration launched the Global Health Initiative (GHI), a $63 billion, six-year comprehensive global health strategy with a womenand girls- centered focus, including specific targets for maternal, newborn and child health. The U.S. Government funds global health programs through several agencies and institutions, including U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes for Health (NIH), Economic Support Fund (ESF), and Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA) . !
In fiscal year 2010 (FY10), Congress appropriated $474 million to the USAID Maternal and Child Health account, which funds child survival and maternal health programs. This is a 4.2 percent decrease from FY09.
In FY10, Congress approUSAID Maternal and Child Health Appropriations, FY00-FY11 President’s Request priated $525 million to ϳϱϬ ΨϳϬϬ USAID Family Planning ϳϬϬ account. This is a 15 percent increase over FY09. ϲϱϬ In FY10, additional approϲϬϬ priations included $333 million for CDC global ϱϱϬ health programs (includϱϬϬ ing $102 million for CDC ϰϱϬ polio program and $52 million for CDC measles ϰϬϬ vaccination program) and ϯϱϬ $15 million for orphans ϯϬϬ and vulnerable children. The U.S. also supports ϮϱϬ food assistance programs ϮϬϬϬ ϮϬϬϭ ϮϬϬϮ ϮϬϬϯ ϮϬϬϰ ϮϬϬϱ ϮϬϬϲ ϮϬϬϳ ϮϬϬϴ ϮϬϬϵ ϮϬϭϬ ϮϬϭϭ and disease-focused initia&ŝƐĐĂů zĞĂƌ tives that direct a portion of their funding to maternal and/or child health, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. ^ƉĞŶĚŝŶŐ ;ŵŝůůŝŽŶƐ h^ Ϳ
Challenges
Developmental assistance is not always allocated proportionally according to need. 7 Improved tracking of government and non-governmental funding at country level is needed.7 The majority of funding for maternal, newborn and child health is allocated to specific projects rather than health systems strengthening.9 Therefore, resources for training, staffing, management and supervision, remain far too low.9 Accurate estimates of funding requirements are essential for advocates and policy makers, but conflicting costing elements may lead to confusion. Greater coordination is needed among those in the global health community developing costing estimates to ensure their clarity and maximize their usefulness.
NOVEMBER 2010
References 1.You D, Jones G, Wardlaw T, United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Levels & trends in child mortality: estimated developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. New York: UNICEF; 2010. 2. Hogan MC, Lopez AD, Lozan R, Murray CJ, Naghavi M, Rajaratnam JK. Building momentum: global progress toward reducing maternal and child mortality. Seattle: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation; 2010. 3. WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank. Trends in maternal mortality: 1990 to 2008. New York Geneva; 2010. 4. Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems. More money for health and more health for the money: International Health Partnership; 2009. 5. Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health. Consensus for maternal, newborn and child health. [cited April 8, 2010]; Available from: http://www.who.int/pmnch/topics/maternal/consensus_12_09.pdf 6. Schaferhoff M, Schrade C, Yamey G. Financing maternal and child health - what are the limitations in estimating donor flows and resource needs? PLoS Medicine. 2010;7(7):1-6. 7. World Health Organization, UNICEF. Countdown to 2015 decade report (2000-2010):taking stock of maternal, newborn and child survival. Washington DC: World Health Organization UNICEF; 2010. 8. Moss K, Valentine A, Kates J, Boortz K, Wexler A. The U.S. Government’s efforts to address global maternal, newborn, and child health: the Global Health Initiative and beyond. Washington, DC: The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation,; 2010. 9. UNICEF. State of the World’s Children 2009: Maternal and newborn health. New York: UNICEF; 2008.
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