A decade of tracking progress

Countdown to 2015 – Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival – launched its 2015 Report on October 19, 2015, at the first Global Maternal & Newborn Health Conference, held in Mexico City.

The 2015 Report, A Decade of Tracking Progress for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival, includes an updated country profile for each of the 75 Countdown countries, which together account for more than 95% of the world's maternal, newborn, and child deaths.

This final Countdown to 2015 report begins with a summary of results from 2015 based on the data presented in those country profiles, and builds on a companion article that was published simultaneously in The Lancet.

It examines trends in mortality and nutrition; intervention coverage (including inequality); financial flows to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; and supportive policy and systems measures. The report then assesses changes in data availability and their implications for program managers and decision makers.

It concludes by turning a critical lens on the Sustainable Development Goals framework and future accountability efforts, drawing from Countdown's 10 years of monitoring experience.

The 2015 Report shows that, although some health issues and some countries have seen considerable progress, important gaps remain that must not be forgotten in the transition to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Countdown process which started in 2003 leaves mix message for us. The report stocks progress of maternal and child health in 75 countries in the world. The key message is: there has been progress, progress has been accelerated in recent years, the pace of improvement is getting faster but yet there is lot to be done.

According to the report in 2015, experts suggest a particular area of emphasis to put in coming days in inequalities in different indicators.

Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, Co-chair of Countdown to 2015 informed that the donors have committed to invest more in countdown process. It will continue in the upcoming years in bigger shape.

Looking at the data from Bangladesh, Dr. Shams El Arifeen from ICDDR,B commented, "Bangladesh has done well in most of the indicators, particularly in maternal health, but the progress in coming years will be more challenging. Next milestones will not be as easy as the country has achieved before."

Dr. Shams, an expert worked for Bangladesh country level information, said, "Bangladesh needs to invest more in maternal and child health facilities to achieve the newly set targets those the government of Bangladesh has already committed. Well designed program needs to be implemented, which he commented – not impossible – to achieve next level of target in progress."

Dr. Shams added, "Bangladesh needs to underscore the access to services and quality of services. To ensure the quality of services, we need to improve in human resources and invest in the quality of facilities. It requires long term plan and cannot be achieved overnight."

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