Suchergebnisse

Funding: Global Challenges Research Fund / Prof Sonia Buist Global Child Health Research Fund / Scottish Funding Council. ; This paper considers the effect of government revenue and the quality of governance on the under-five and maternal survival rates. A non-linear panel data study was undertaken using annual data for every country in the world. The study's broad conclusion is that while government resources, measured as total revenue received by a country's government, is essential, the quality of governance is even more critical in determining a good outcome for both mother and child. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

Most children die in low and middle-income countries as a result of structural injustice, and while it may not be possible to prove causality between economic policies and breaches of rights, it is possible to audit policy and practices through the lens of human rights. Child health advocates need to highlight the fact that technical interventions, in the absence of action on structural injustice, cannot address the fundamental causes of poor health. It could even be said that we collude in the fallacy that injustices can be solved with technical solutions. The determinants of health, water, food, shelter, primary education and health care are minimum core human rights, are the rights required for survival and today should be available to every child (and their families) in all countries. However, there are national and global limitations on the ability of countries to determine policy and generate the revenue required for core human rights. The authors conducted a review of the literature on the main leakages from government revenues in low and middle-income countries to identify obstacles to children enjoying their right to survival. Based on the review the authors suggest a framework for an upstream audit that can be carried out, country by country, to identify barriers in terms of policies and the generation, allocation and utilisation of revenues. This audit involves systematically screening the policies and practices of the main actors: national governments, high-income country partners, multinational enterprises, and international organisations, for possible influence on the realisation of human rights. Human rights advocates and child health associations could lead or commission an upstream audit on behalf of children in their countries in order to identify the fundamental causes and real remedies. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

Funding: The Global Challenges Research Fund, the Scottish Funding Council and the Professor Sonia Buist Global Health Research Fund. ; Most maternal and child deaths result from inadequate access to the critical determinants of health: clean water, sanitation, education and healthcare, which are also among the Sustainable Development Goals. Reasons for poor access include insufficient government revenue for essential public services. In this paper, we predict the reductions in mortality rates — both child and maternal — that could result from increases in government revenue, using panel data from 191 countries and a two-way fixed-effect linear regression model. The relationship between government revenue per capita and mortality rates is highly non-linear, and the best form of non-linearity we have found is a version of an inverse function. This implies that countries with small per-capita government revenues have a better scope for reducing mortality rates. However, as per-capita revenue rises, the possible gains decline rapidly in a non-linear way. We present the results which show the potential decrease in mortality and lives saved for each of the 191 countries if government revenue increases. For example, a 10% increase in per-capita government revenue in Afghanistan in 2002 ($24.49 million) is associated with a reduction in the under-5 mortality rate by 12.35 deaths per 1000 births and 13,094 lives saved. This increase is associated with a decrease in the maternal mortality ratio of 9.3 deaths per 100,000 live births and 99 maternal deaths averted. Increasing government revenue can directly impact mortality, especially in countries with low per- capita government revenues. The results presented in this study could be used for economic, social and governance reporting by multinational companies and for evidence-based policymaking and advocacy. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed