Media Release: EU and UNICEF boost their partnership to improve child and maternal health and to save more children

Excerpt
NEW YORK, 4 February 2014 – The European Union announced today that it has allocated €320 million ($431 million) through UNICEF to improve the health and nutrition of children and women in 15 developing countries and to help speed progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Funding will focus on tackling under-nutrition and infectious diseases, which are among the root causes of child mortality.  Multi-year programmes will focus on improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, as well as quality medical services, health care and adequate nutrition.
The amount represents a 350 per cent increase in development funding from the European Union to UNICEF since 2008.
“Today’s announcement shows what a difference we can make when we work together, and our partnership with UNICEF will help us reach even more of the people who most need our help,” European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs told the UNICEF Executive Board in New York. “Much remains to be done before the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs and these projects will help us build on the achievements made so far.”
While child mortality rates have declined from an estimated 12.6 million in 1990 to approximately 6.6 million in 2012, around 18,000 children still die of preventable diseases each day.  At current trends, the world will not meet Millennium Development Goal 4 – to cut the rate of under-five mortality by two-thirds – until 2028.
The €320 million in funding agreements – signed with 15 UNICEF country offices in 2013 – is part of the EU’s MDG-initiative and the 10th European Development Fund, which aims to accelerate progress towards meeting the most off-track goals.  UNICEF and the EU, in cooperation with partner countries and civil societies, will scale up interventions that reduce child mortality and strengthen maternal and pre-natal health…