USAID, UK High Commission celebrate a decade of progress on maternal, child survival

The USAID, British High Commission and the ministry of health on Tuesday hosted an event celebrating Bangladesh's progress over the last decade towards ending preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children, says a press release.

The 2012 Call to Action scheme helped catalyse a global movement to dramatically improve maternal and child survival. Following Bangladesh's Call to Action launch ten years ago, the government reiterated its commitment to end preventable child deaths by 2035 by building on its previous successes in reducing child mortality.

This remains a priority for both USAID and the British High Commission, as evidenced by the UK's "2021 Ending Preventable Deaths of Mothers, Babies and Children" approach and USAID's "Getting to 2030: Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Technical Roadmap" and its annual "Acting on the Call" initiatives.

Dr Md Anwar Hossain Howlader, secretary of Health Services Division and Md Azizur Rahman, secretary of Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare spoke at the event, which was also attended by event development partners, NGOs, and members of academic institutions and professional organisations.

On Tuesday, USAID, Unicef and the governments of India, Senegal and the United Kingdom co-hosted a global celebration programee in Washington DC.

The British High Commission's Deputy High Commissioner Matt Cannell, noted that, "The US and the UK are strong allies and we are joining forces to be an even more reliable and effective development partner for Bangladesh."

Marvin Crespin-Gamez, a USAID high official on population and health, highlighted how by working together with the British High commission, "We've seen that the government of Bangladesh has intensified efforts to fulfill its commitment toward ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 by 2030."