Partner in the spotlight: Child Survival Action Initiative

This month, PMNCH is proud to highlight the work of the Child Survival Action (CSA) initiative, a renewed call to action that aims to unite governments, civil society, academic institutions and development partners to combat child mortality and achieve SDG Target 3.2 to end preventable newborn and child deaths by 2030.

The Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Child Health Task Force, has announced the launch of the CSA initiative in April 2023. It is coordinated by the Child Health Task Force Secretariat and includes representatives from the Global Financing Facility (GFF), Save the Children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The initiative takes a strategic and effective approach to reach the most vulnerable children at risk from the leading causes of death – pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria – with life-saving interventions. It focuses on the 59 countries, including 45 in Africa, that urgently need accelerated efforts to achieve the 2030 SDG3 target on child mortality, and strengthens primary health care in facilities and communities to more effectively prevent, diagnose, and treat the causes of child deaths. By building effective partnerships across the continuum from pre-pregnancy to childhood, it mobilizes the resources needed to implement a new vision for child health, nutrition and survival.

Most recently, during the 77th World Health Assembly and Lives in the Balance events, CSA released a technical brochure promoting primary health care and assessing progress towards the SDGs and key indicators related to child health. In addition, CSA partnered with the Every Newborn Action Plan – Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (ENAP-EPMM) and PMNCH to develop a two-page briefing outlining six key actions needed to accelerate progress in maternal, newborn and child (MNCH) health. Building on EPMM and ENAP commitments, the Child Survival Action initiative outlines the next steps needed to ensure no child dies from preventable and treatable causes. Additional resources are available on the Child Health Task Force website.

In June 2023, Sierra Leone became the first partner country to launch a National Child Survival Action Plan. Shortly thereafter, the Honorable Dr. Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone, declared maternal and child survival a critical issue and a public health priority that requires commitment and action on par with that of a health emergency. He called on his fellow African health ministers to join him in recognizing this generation-defining challenge. As Dr. Demby said, “Think of the baby being born in Sierra Leone today. Does that baby have a voice of its own? The voiceless must be defended.” Other countries, including Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Madagascar, are following suit and developing their CSA plans.

PMNCH commends Sierra Leone’s leadership and is proud of its long-standing partnership with the Ministry of Health on initiatives to promote Women, Children and Adolescent Health (WCAH). Sierra Leone is one of eleven countries that the Global Leaders Network, chaired by HE President Ramaphosa and supported by PMNCH, plans to partner with to lead an accelerated nationwide action program to achieve the SDG targets on maternal, newborn and child mortality.

Key to the impact of these efforts is the Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan (CAAP) initiative, a government-led approach that aims to improve the quality and implementation of existing WCAH commitments and mobilize new commitments in identified gap areas. This multi-stakeholder initiative focuses on partner-informed systematic delineation and assessment of WCAH commitments in each CAAP country, conducted through a broad-based multistakeholder platform (MSP) of WCAH partners. These efforts lead to the development of a context-specific advocacy plan that aims to align partners’ efforts on prioritized goals. Two PMNCH partners, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Sierra Leone Office and the Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD), are playing an active role in the CAAP development process in Sierra Leone, with CHAI Sierra Leone serving as the country coordination partner. YPPD previously worked with PMNCH to mobilize youth engagement for the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign and the Global Forum for Adolescents (GFA) in October 2023, reaching over 100,000 young people in Sierra Leone.

To provide partners in Sierra Leone with a digital platform to share country-specific information, the Sierra Leone Digital Advocacy Hub is being launched. It complements the MNCH Digital Advocacy Hub, which aims to promote partner engagement and advocate for child survival and other MNCH priorities.

Special thanks go to Dyness Kasungami, Senior Advisor and Coordinator for Child Health at the Global Child Health Task Force Secretariat, for her tireless commitment to addressing the unfinished business of child survival; the Honorable Dr. Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone, for his leadership of the Child Survival Initiative in Sierra Leone at the regional and global levels; Dr. Tom Sesay, Director of Reproductive and Child Health at the Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone; Silvestre Suh, Country Director, and Frank Chikhata, Program Managers for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Assistive Technologies and Oxygen Access, CHAI Sierra Leone; and Musa Soko, Executive Coordinator of YPPD, for their leadership in bringing partners together around advocacy priorities under the CAAP initiative.

The Child Survival Action initiative welcomes partners from all sectors including health, water, sanitation, nutrition/agriculture, clean air, safe environment, child protection, education and social welfare. To join the CSA, email [email protected].