Statement by H.E. Mr. Erastus Mwencha Deputy Chairperson African Union Commission at the Commemoration of the 2015 Carmma Week, Nairobi, Kenya, 19th November 2015

The First Lady of The Republic of Kenya - H.E Mrs. Margaret Kenyatta;

The Cabinet Secretary for Health - Mr. James Macharia;

The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs - Dr. Mustapha Kaloko

The US Ambassador to the African Union - Amb. Susan Page

The UNFPA Regional Director; Dr. Julitta Onabanjo

Excellencies, Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corp

Representatives of Development Partners and UN Agencies

Representatives of CSOs;

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, the 19th of November 2015, we are gathered to commemorate the 2015 CARMMA week.

This is part of efforts to promote the health and welfare of women and children in Africa that continue to occupy a central place amongst the priorities of the African Union. As in the past, this year’s commemoration of the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) is significant in two ways. First, we celebrate gains made so far, and, secondly, we appreciate those that have championed the CARMMA agenda.

May I take this opportunity to thank all of you gathered here and especially the First Lady of the Republic Kenya H.E Mrs. Margaret Kenyatta for finding time to grace this important event. Your Excellency, today, we celebrate your efforts in improving maternal and child health and in promoting the welfare of women and children in Kenya. When the Republic of Kenya launched the campaign in 2010, it indeed joined the rest of the continent in institutionalizing strategies that will ultimately bring about better health outcomes for women, children and newborns. The Beyond Zero Campaign led by Your Excellency’s office has been a game changer in bringing health services to the door steps of women and children previously disadvantaged by status and location. Financing the campaign through donations and public private partnerships has indeed exposed the untapped potential of the private sector in scaling up health interventions. Thank you and we urge you to continue to provide the much needed hope to the vulnerable groups.

As you all know, CARMMA was born in 2009 with a continental proclamation that - “No Woman Should Die While Giving Life”. The campaign aimed at accelerating the reduction of maternal and child mortality for the attainment of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 has gone a long way in improving the health status of Africa’s women and children. As a Commission, we are delighted that 45 Member States domesticated CARMMA by strategies and programmes together with a scorecard for monitoring progress. We can pride ourselves of the resultant national leadership and ownership that has led to the waiver of out of pocket expenditure for pregnant mothers and infants, expansion of the community maternal and child health programmes, institutionalization of the maternal and child death audits and an increase in annual government expenditure on maternal, newborn and child health among others.

These priority interventions have reduced the number of children dying before celebrating their 5th birth day by 48% and saved nearly half (49%) of the mothers dying from maternal causes. In terms of child health, eight (8) countries met the MDG 4 goal by the end of 2013, seven (7) countries were on track to achieve the target while nine (9) countries reduced their under-five mortality by more than 50%. By the end of 2013, four (4) countries reduced their maternal mortality and achieved MDG 5, four (4) were on track and twenty seven (27) had reduced their maternal mortality by over 40%.
Your Excellencies, despite these achievements in improving maternal and child health, much still needs to be done as majority of maternal and child deaths are preventable. The challenges that remain underpin the need to reinvigorate and sustain the momentum of our efforts towards the continental goal of ending preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths by 2030. CARMMA therefore remains a key vehicle to move the continent towards the attainment of this noble goal. It is important therefore for AU Member States to focus on high-impact interventions such as strengthening the referral system, expanding midwifery services, prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, intrapartum obstetric and neonatal care, immunization, nutrition and institutionalization of maternal death surveillance and response among others. More importantly, these interventions require the overall strengthening of health systems, reducing health inequities, and maintaining a drive towards universal health coverage.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The theme of this year’s commemoration, "Mobilizing to end preventable maternal and child deaths in Africa by 2030"aptly fits within the AU Agenda 2063 development framework and the just adopted UN Global Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed one of Africa's economic drivers is its demographic dividend and if the continent is to take this advantage there is need to address morbidity factors and nurture our people.

It is now widely accepted that sustained socio-economic development, peace and stability cannot be realized without addressing persistent gender inequalities, social exclusion and poor health outcomes on the continent. For example, in the agricultural sector, whereas women account for 70% output, they only receive less than 10% of its earnings. Admittedly, more and more women in Africa are getting out of their traditional jobs and venturing into professions that for a long time were the preserve of men. More importantly, women are becoming entrepreneurs and running very competitive businesses. But much more remains to be done.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As part of this commemoration, the Commission is delighted to launch the “2014 Status Report on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health” and the “Gender Mainstreaming Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) Systems in Africa” report. To this end, let me thank all partners and specifically UNFPA, UNWOMEN and the US government, for their efforts, and resources that have complemented our own endeavors. We acknowledge with gratitude, your commitments to improve the health and socio-economic wellbeing of Africa’s women and children.

Let me assure you that the continent’s leadership is determined more than ever to ensure maternal and child health takes centre stage of the African development agenda. Finally, I wish to assure you that the Commission of the African Union will continue championing Africa’s political commitment and leadership in maternal, newborn and child health to consolidate the gains made, complete the unfinished business, and sustain momentum for attaining the aspirations of our Agenda 2063.

I wish you all a very fruitful CARMMA Week Commemoration.

I thank you.