The First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia, Her Excellency Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh, has reaffirmed The Gambia Government's commitment towards its policies and programmes geared towards uplifting the health and well-being of Gambians.

She was speaking yesterday at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel in Banjul, where she launched the UNICEF State of the World's Children's Report, 2009, on the theme: 'Maternal and newborn health'. Madam Yahya Jammeh told the gathering that maternal and newborn health cannot be more fitting as a theme when considered in the overall context of socio-economic and national development.

The launching, she noted, provides us with a unique opportunity to review the range of health problems that affect women and their families. She said that it is evident that the complications of pregnancy and childbirth remain the major cause of disability and death among women of childbearing age and girls, globally, with a maternal mortality ratio of 940 per 100,000 live births.

"Accordingly, for every one maternal death, 20-30 more women suffer long term illness and disability from pregnancy and childbirth complications. The lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy complication is 1 in 16 for developing countries, and 1 in 2,800 in developed countries - a true reflection of the disparity between rich and poor nations," noted the First Lady. On the other hand, she went on,  global estimates reveal that four million babies die each year, accounting for two-thirds of all infant deaths, with 96 per cent of these deaths occurring in developing countries. This, she noted, has given a death rate of 45 newborns per 1000 live births annually.

"Maternal and newborn health can be achieved if skilled birth attendants or midwives monitor all pregnancies, labour and postpartum women; if timely access to quality emergency obstetric care is available in most of the rural health facilities and if capacities of individuals, families and communities are strengthened on maternal and new-born health issues," The Gambia's First Lady observed. To this end, she indicated that her Operation Save A Baby initiative, the Vision 2010 initiative of First Ladies on maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality reduction in West and Central Africa as well as the recent Synergy Africaine, are all interventions aimed at attaining the health related MDGs 4, 5 and 6.

First Lady Jammeh stressed that the countdown to year 2015 calls for more proactive actions in a coordinated and cohesive manner to ensure access to quality maternal newborn and child health at all levels. Madam Yahya Jammeh went on to call on all the development partners and individuals both locally and externally to lend support towards improving the quality of health services for the ultimate attainment of health related MDGs targets before 2015. "Together, we can continue to improve the health and well-being of the citizenry," she noted, while reiterating government's commitment to improve the health status of the citizens.

Speaking earlier, Dr Mariatou Jallow, the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, noted that the launching of the report aims among other things to advocate for and draw attention of the health workers, the UN agencies, private sector, NGOs, various members of the government and other stakeholders to the health and well being of the most vulnerable group of the society. "Although The Gambia has registered some success in the reduction of maternal and newborn morbidity, the indicators signal that there is no room for complacency," Minister Jallow stressed. While reaffirming government's commitment to the attainment of the health-related MDGs, as well as the International Conference and Population Development, Minister Jallow indicated that her ministry has identified maternal and newborn as a priority area for intervention.

For her part, Min Whee Kang, UNICEF country representative in The Gambia, observed that the State of the World's Children 2009 examines critical issues in maternal and newborn health. She noted that the report underscores the need to establish a comprehensive continuum of care for mothers, newborns and children. The UNICEF country rep noted that the report examines partnership and collaborative initiative aimed at improving maternal and neonatal health. At the end of the launching ceremony, the First Lady visited the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, where she inspected the maternity and antenatal units as well as the labour ward.