[health-vn] The Millennium Development Goals Fail Poor Children: The Case for Equity-Adjusted Measures

[Vern Weitzel]

Subject: 	[EQ] The Millennium Development Goals Fail Poor Children: The
Case for Equity-Adjusted Measures
Date: 	Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:43:07 -0400
From: 	Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at PAHO.ORG>
Reply-To: 	Equity, Health & Human Development <EQUIDAD at LISTSERV.PAHO.ORG>
To: 	EQUIDAD at LISTSERV.PAHO.ORG

The Millennium Development Goals Fail Poor Children: The Case for
Equity-Adjusted Measures

Daniel D. Reidpath1*, Chantal M. Morel2, Jeffrey W. Mecaskey3, Pascale
Allotey1

1 Centre for Public Health Research, Brunel University, Uxbridge, United
Kingdom,
2 LSE Health, London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom,
3 Save the Children UK, London, United Kingdom

*PLoS Med 6(4): e1000062. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000062 - April 28,
2009***



Available online at:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000062




“………..of the Millennium Declaration is to address the health and
development needs of society's most vulnerable and least served [1].
Issues of equity form a key principle:



We recognize that, in addition to our separate responsibilities to our
individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the
principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level. As
leaders we have a duty therefore to all the world's people, especially
the most vulnerable and, in particular, the children of the world, to
whom the future belongs [1]….”



*Summary Points*

The Millennium Declaration is a statement of principles about the kind
of future that world governments seek; a future that they envisage to be
more equitable and more responsive to the socially most vulnerable.



The Millennium Development Goals represent the operational targets by
which we may judge their actions.



The reduction of the U5MR by two-thirds by 2015 is one of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG4).



The reduction in U5MR can, however, be achieved through a diversity of
policy interventions, some of which could leave the children of the poor
worse off. A celebrated MDG4 success can, thus, be a Millennium
Declaration failure.



Health policy informed by composite outcome measures that take account
of both the U5MR and the distribution of the burden of mortality across
social groups would help to overcome this.



Introduction

Exploring Equity, Equality, and U5MR

An Equity-Adjusted Measure

Conclusion

References


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