Why create a child survival partnership?

The Child Survival Partnership (CSP) provides a forum for coordinated action to address the major conditions that affect children's health: it enables governments and partners to agree on consistent approaches and stimulates concerted efforts towards their implementation.

Child Survival in Ethiopia and Cambodia: Stories of partnership activity

Rolling Conference on Child Survival
13-14 December 2005
University of London

The Bellagio/Lancet Child Survival Series helped raise global awareness to the fact that there are still almost 11 million deaths of underfive children in the world each year, and that the universal application of simple, cost-effective interventions can prevent nearly two thirds of these deaths.

The closing paper in the Lancet series, published on July 26, 2003, included a call for action to the global community, for a second Child Survival Revolution, and outlined a number of potential lines of action. The authors (The Bellagio Study Group on Child Survival) stated: "we commit ourselves to ensuring that there is an overall mechanism for improving accountability, re-energizing commitment, and recognizing accomplishments in child survival. We commit ourselves to convening a series of meetings, every 2 years, hosted by rotating institutions. Participants will be those who support child survival, who monitor interventions and delivery strategies, and other concerned individuals and organizations. The meetings will provide regular opportunities for the world to take stock of progress in preventing child deaths, and to hold countries and their partners accountable. This proposal for rolling conferences is not enough, but it is a long-term commitment to change and improve the state of child health."

The Child Survival Partnership, inspired by the recommendations of the Bellagio Study Group, is proposing the organization of the first rolling conference on child survival confirmed for 13-14 December 2005 in Beveridge Hall in the Senate House, University of London. The meeting will be the first in a series of two-yearly conferences to review progress on child survival and hold key stakeholders accountable. The objectives of the first conference are to: (1) provide a forum for the development of coordinated institutional commitments to child survival efforts, (2) review progress towards the achievement of high and equitable coverage with essential child survival interventions and reductions in child mortality; to identify barriers to such progress and how they can be addressed; and to share new knowledge and information needs relevant to scaling up, (3) present a small number of indicators that will serve as the basis for monitoring coverage outcomes in child survival: to propose a process for measuring these indicators; and to hold institutions and agencies accountable for progress.

The meeting's participants will include policy makers, scientists active in field of CS research, representatives from bilateral and international agencies, donor agencies, foundations, NGOs and representatives of relevant advocacy, media and private sectors groups. The conference will highlight necessary linkages with maternal health and opportunities for moving the agenda jointly.

Further information will be posted soon.