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Notice to Readers: World Health Day --- April 7, 2005
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated April 7, 2005, as World Health Day. The theme for this
year's World Health Day is, "Make Every Mother and Child Count," with a focus on efforts to decrease mortality from pregnancy-related causes and in early childhood. Maternal and early childhood mortality persists as a major problem around the
world, especially in developing regions. Approximately half a million women die each year from pregnancy-related causes (1). Approximately one in every 12 children throughout the world will not survive to age 5 years; in the least developed countries of the world, this figure is approximately one in six
(2). Implementation of existing low cost, effective interventions
could substantially close the gap and provide opportunity to reduce excessive maternal, perinatal, infant, and child mortality.
"Make Every Mother and Child Count" aims to account for every mother and child through the collection, analysis, and use of public health data. These data are often critical in helping organizations and governments to 1) design, support, and evaluate interventions; 2) identify emerging threats to maternal and child health needs; and 3) monitor the quality of services delivered to women and children. Toward this end, CDC continues to be a partner in domestic and global activities, providing the infrastructure needed to conduct surveillance and special studies to count every woman and child affected by a disease, disorder, or event.
United Nations Population Fund. State of world population 2004, the Cairo Consensus at ten: population, reproductive health, and the global
effort to reduce poverty. New York, NY: United Nations Population Fund; 2004.
United Nations Children's Fund. Childhood under threat: the state of the world's children 2005. New York, NY: United Nations Children's
Fund; 2004.
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Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
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Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
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