| Resumen: |
What you count is what you do?
This simple phrase captures the synergistic relationship between measurement and
action. There are many examples in the field of global health where this applies – where
low priority to reducing a burden reflects, in part, a lack of robust data on its magnitude,
determinants and consequences. Maternal mortality has long been cited as one such
example. From the launch of the Safe Motherhood Initiative in 1987, to the Global
Strategy for Women s and Children s Health launched in September 2010 by the United
Nations Secretary-General, the need for better data has been, and will continue to be, a
common call. This need has been felt particularly acutely at national and global levels,
since the Millennium Declaration in 2000 when maternal mortality was propelled into
the limelight as the target indicator for one of the eight goals. As 2015 looms closer,
the call for better data is even louder. These revised guidelines on measuring maternal
mortality using the census are thus most timely. |
