Useful notes from 2013 iERC for women and children

One of the panel discussion in the meeting will critically  look at the  2013 report of the  independent Expert Review Group (iERG)  on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health. The report is already posted in the W.H.O website and shared to many stakeholders, as such drawing some lessons from it isn’t out of […]

One of the panel discussion in the meeting will critically  look at the  2013 report of the  independent Expert Review Group (iERG)  on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health. The report is already posted in the W.H.O website and shared to many stakeholders, as such drawing some lessons from it isn’t out of place. We will come back to the outcome of this Geneva meeting when its report is shared later in the month.
The 2013 report which is the 2nd  independent Expert Review Group on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health emphasized that we have now reached the half-way point in our work for the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon with an objective  to make accountability a central element of his ambitious Every Woman, Every Child Initiative. A powerful message in the report worth sharing “is the need for someone to step back and ask: what is actually being achieved for women and children? Are the promises made at international conferences being delivered? What tangible and material benefits are women and children seeing from these commitments? What barriers exist to prevent political momentum from being converted into better results?”
These are very useful questions for all us to tinker and find answers to. The report highlighted that a political momentum for women’s and children’s health has continued to grow at an extraordinary pace during 2012 and 2013. The crystallisation of work around Family Planning 2020, A Promise Renewed, and the Commission on Life-Saving Commodities has added valuable new energy to the UN Secretary- General’s Every Woman, Every Child initiative.  Although Every Woman, Every Child has increased global advocacy for women’s and children’s health, only 17 of 75 iERG countries are projected to achieve MDG-4 by 2015 and only 9 of 75 countries are expected to achieve MDG-5 . Our country Nigeria isn’t among the 17 and among the 9 respectively. Commitments to Every Woman, Every Child have been rising, but the number being added has diminished over time. There is a severe funding shortfall too, raising concerns that the UN Secretary-General’s ambitions may not be fully realised. There are also substantial variations and disparities in commitments to countries triggered by Every Woman, Every Child.  The report observed that the year 2013 was the target date for one Commission goal transparency (“By 2013, all stakeholders are publicly sharing information on commitments, resources provided, and results achieved annually, at both national and international levels”).
In W.H.O’s report to the iERG, progress on transparency is labelled red, this goal will be difficult or impossible to achieve at current rates of progress. I am so impressed with this frank assessment by the iERG report on transparency which is elaborated further in the report as it is much more than providing access to data. Transparency means being able to understand and act on those data. For the iERG, this means linking transparency to the process of accountability—the use of information in an open, inclusive, and participatory mechanism that enables the free exchange of evidence to improve the health of women and children. A commitment to transparency therefore means a commitment to building capacity to understand and use information. We see little evidence that partners are addressing this issue. WHO identifies two further areas of weakness in efforts to achieve transparency? First, the lack of engagement of media to amplify messages about women’s and children’s health. And second, the absence of civil society from country accountability mechanisms.
Enhancing national oversight
The iERG 2012 report was focused on global accountability. In 2013 it was turn to countries. The Commission made a specific recommendation about national oversight of women’s and children’s health— “By 2012, all countries have established national accountability mechanisms that are transparent, that are inclusive of all stakeholders, and that recommend remedial action, as required.” 17 iERG countries will not have held a health-sector review in 2013, according to WHO.
The report had noted that the committee has seen a special opportunities to strengthen country accountability through greater engagement by national parliaments and “Country Countdown” meetings. The Inter-Parliamentary Union has worked hard to promote women’s and children’s health among its members, passing a resolution in 2012 to hold parliaments accountable for addressing key challenges affecting women and children. The Countdown to 2015 group, a global network of scientists, health workers, and policymakers, has a strong commitment to conduct Country Countdowns, where evidence is promoted as a tool to improve decision making. Both mechanisms can make use of a range of human rights tools, such as a General Comment on the meaning of a child’s right to health, passed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in February, 2013.
Although work is progressing on strengthening national oversight and accountability mechanisms, that work needs to be accelerated, not only for the purpose of moving faster towards MDG goals and targets, but also for preparing countries and partners for what follows the MDGs, which will almost certainly continue to include ambitious commitments for women and children. The assessment is that national oversight has been insufficiently prioritised by countries and partners.

All comments to Dr Aminu Magashi at [email protected]