Commission for Social Development

RESOLUTION 1.2

Committee: Commission for Social Development

Topic Area B: Assumption of measures against child mortality.

Sponsored by: Slovakia

Submitted by: Somalia, Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, Austria, brazil, Switzerland, Belarus, Luxembourg, Philippines, Italy, Japan, China, Serbia, Chile, Malaysia, Monaco, Haiti, Iran, Canada, Fiji, Portugal, Slovakia, DPR of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malta, Armenia, Georgia, Israel

The Commission for Social Development committee,

Bearing in mind that child mortality refers to the deaths of infants and children under the age of five because of diseases, such as malaria, measles and acute respiratory infection which have cost over a million children’s lives in developing countries and especially in South-central Asia and sub-Sahara Africa.

Recalling the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations in November 1989 and by all governments with the exceptions of Somalia and US, which proclaimed the children’s right on life and the obligation of every State to preserve and guarantee their survival and well being.

Deploring that over 30.000 children under the age of five die each day from preventable causes related to conditions of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Noting with deep concern that in developing countries and poor households children are at least 10-30 times more likely to die than the children in Europe, while most of the diseases that cause child mortality are easily treatable and two-thirds of these deaths preventable.

Taking into consideration the Article 25 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where a standard, adequate way of living and health including medical care should be equally and universally accessible.

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which highlights that every child has the inherent right to life and needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection before as well as after birth.

Reminds that most infants could be saved if there wasn’t poor care during pregnancy and lack of skilled attendants at birth, including doctors, nurses or midwifes.

Proposes:

a. The adoption of low-tech, evidence-based, cost-effective measures, such as vaccines, antibiotics, micronutrient supplementation, oral rehydration therapy, insecticide treated bed nets and improved family care and breastfeeding practices;

b. The negotiation for favorable prices in vaccines requirements to ensure sustainable supplies, in order to achieve immunization, with particular focus on reaching population groups with low coverage levels and the final eradication of polio;

c. The placing of mosquito nets for the safest sleeping of newborns in order to reduce at least 60 per cent of malaria in malaria-endemic areas;

d. The education of mothers about how they can make simple changes to increase the health of their children and provide them with a healthier relationship and environment.

Suggests the access to antenatal care during pregnancy, improved management for normal delivery by skillful attendants, access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care (EmONC) when needed and timely post natal care for both mothers and newborns with the contribution of a community health worker (CHW) who could be present at delivery to care for the newborns, in this way, neonatal mortality will be reduced by 70 per cent.

Urges the countries that have yet to ratify theConvention on the Rights of the Child to ensure the prosperity of their offspring.

Urges all bodies in the United Nation system such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNCEF and all Member States, especially in the developed world to intensify their support to all governments in developing countries towards achieving greater success in tackling child mortality.

Recommends that 18 should be the minimum age for military service and measures should be taken to prevent any children participation in armed conflicts.

Expresses its belief that stricter international regulations must be voted and implemented by each country, so as to set a lower global threshold of child mortality, as well as a threshold in each and every country.