Abstract

PIP: This article identifies key features of a June 1997 seminar held among delegates from French-speaking African countries on the World Health Organization's Mother-Baby Package. This package aims to strengthen, integrate, and speed up national efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in developing countries. Multidisciplinary teams met in subregions. The first group met in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; another group met a week later in Libreville, Gabon. WHO's Regional Office for Africa organized the meetings. Participants included representatives from UNDP, UNICEF, and UNFPA and representatives from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. The meetings were conducted in French. Some participants pointed out the needs of countries that recently emerged from periods of armed conflict. It was understood that a minimum level of political stability was required in order for health systems to function effectively and to reduce maternal deaths. Countries are trying to restore health services to be able to respond to obstetric emergencies at any time or place. Information was provided on country-specific experiences with initiatives and problems, such as lack of funding and human resources. Midwife skills are particularly deficient at the local level. Some participants viewed a reproductive health emphasis as slowing safe motherhood efforts, while some viewed reproductive health as the foundation for safe motherhood and a way to strengthen support. Participants agreed on methods of mobilizing resources, identifying appropriate indicators, and collaborating intersectorally. They were committed to using World Health Day 1998 as a way to focus national celebrations on safe motherhood.