Dear Delegates, It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2015 Montessori Model United Nations Conference. The following pages intend to guide you in the research of the topics that will be debated at MMUN 2015 in committee sessions. Please note this guide only provides the basis for your investigation. It is your responsibility to find as much information necessary on the topics and how they relate to the country you represent. Such information should help you write your Position Paper, where you need to cite the references in the text and finally list all references in the Modern Language Association (MLA} format. The more information and understanding you acquire on the two topics, the more you will be able to influence the Resolution writing process through debates [formal and informal caucuses], and the MMUN experience as a whole. Please feel free to contact us if and when you face challenges in your research or formatting your Position Papers. We encourage you to learn all you can about your topics first and then study your country with regard to the two selected topics. Please remember that both committee members need to be well versed and ready to debate both topics. Enjoy researching and writing your Position Papers. We look forward to seeing you at the Conference! MMUN Secretariat Team info@montessori-mun.org
UN Women In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women s empowerment: Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) The main roles of UN Women are: To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms. To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society. To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress. Source: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women
Reducing Child Mortality Topic Background Reducing child mortality is the fourth of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the United Nations to better the lives of the world s population. Child mortality refers to the number children that die before the age of five. Sadly, 29 thousand children die each day, mostly from diseases that could have been prevented. This amounts to 11 million each year. Over 70 percent of these deaths are caused by diarrhea, malaria, neonatal (newborn) infection, pneumonia, premature birth, or lack of oxygen at birth. Most child deaths occur in the developing world. South Central Asia has the highest actual number of deaths, while Sub Saharan Africa has the highest rates of child death, meaning that it has the highest number of deaths out of every 1000 births. Shockingly, half of all child deaths in the world happen in just five countries China, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Some of these happen because of the causes mentioned above, and some are caused by malnutrition and lack of water and proper sanitation. 2 Perhaps the worst part of the problem is that the diseases that children are dying from are not unavoidable. Research and experience have shown that 6 million of the 11 million lives that are lost each year could be saved by low tech and cost-effective (affordable) measures such as antibiotics, nutrient supplements, insecticidetreated bed nets, and improved family care. 2 According to the World Health Organization, poor neonatal conditions account for the largest number of young deaths. Each year, 4 million child deaths happen in the first week of life. Proper infant feeding practices, including breastfeeding, are still not widely practiced, and pre and post-natal care for mothers, which is critical to a newborn s health, is still severely lacking in much of the developing world. Thus, the solution does not necessarily lie in elaborate measures or high technology health equipment, but in providing access to knowledge, support, and basic supplies. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of child deaths could be prevented simply by increasing family and community care. 2 Over the past 20 years, child mortality has fallen by 35 percent, but this is still not enough, as millions still die each year. There are fewer than three years remaining until the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs. Unfortunately, progress toward achieving this goal is the most off-track of all of the MDGs. If the United Nations is to meet the child mortality reduction goal, progress needs to increase greatly. For the most part, the steps that need to be taken are already known. Existing measures have had a high impact on saving lives while still being affordable. It is mostly a matter of making it so that everyone has access to these measures. Thus, if each country shares its ideas and gives its support, the United Nations will be able to figure out how to make sure every child can have the resources he or she needs to survive. Past International Action Although much of the globe is on track, much of the globe is also lagging very far behind. Since 1990, child mortality rates have been reduced by over half in Northern Africa, Eastern Asia, Western Asia, Latin America
and the Caribbean. However, many countries still have unacceptably high rates. Most of sub-saharan Africa has made little or no progress at all in the past few years. Even so, many measures have been taken that have seen success. There has been a 50 percent reduction in global child mortality over the 60 years of UNICEF s existence. We have seen that simple actions, such as providing vitamin A supplements, save over a quarter million lives each year. Immunizations are also highly effective. Through expansion of access to vaccines, Egypt has managed to surpass its MDG target, and Vietnam has benefitted over 90 percent of its pregnant mothers and children, with the result that its child mortality rate has been reduced by half. A campaign in Cambodia to promote breast feeding through the Cambodian Ministry of Health s Baby-Friendly Community Initiative increased the rate of breast-fed babies form 13 to 60 percent. This is important to saving children s lives because breast feeding strengthens children and lowers their vulnerability to disease. The Nothing But Nets campaign, established by foundations, corporate, and religious partners, has distributed over three million insecticide-treated anti-malaria nets since its beginning in the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mali, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. The effectiveness of nets was measured previously after distribution in Kenya, where a tenfold increase in children sleeping under nets resulted in a 44 percent reduction in deaths from malaria. 2 In 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the 2010 Global Strategy for Women s and Children s Health. The document outlines important actions necessary for improving the health of women and children worldwide. Such measures have the potential to save 16 million lives by 2015. The strategy includes steps to improve funding, strengthen policy and delivery of services, and establishes international institutional arrangements for reporting, oversight (leadership), and accountability (ensuring that states and organizations follow through). It also indicates how everyone NGOs, governments, corporations can do their part locally, nationally, and internationally to achieve the targets of MDG 4. 4 Through partnership with governments, the World Health Organization, and other UN bodies, UNICEF works hard to achieve the fourth MDG and improve children s lives. The committee is charged with building upon UNICEF s efforts to make the necessary progress toward the goal. The targets outlined in the Global Strategy that seek to reduce child mortality by 2015 in the world s 49 lowest-income countries are as follows: for 43 million new users to have access to comprehensive family planning, for 19 million more women give birth supported by a skilled health worker with the necessary infrastructure, drugs, equipment and regulations, for 2.2 million additional neonatal infections to be treated, for 21.9 million more infants to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, for 15.2 million more children to be fully immunized in their first year of life, for 117 million more children under five to receive vitamin A supplements, and for 85,000 more quality health facilities and up to 3.5 million more health workers to be available. 4 Thus, in order to write the best possible resolutions, it will probably be best to divide the topic into solutions that deal with the maternal/infant care aspect of the problem and those solutions that address access to lifesaving resources such as immunization, nets, and better nutrition and sanitation. As previously mentioned, the problem is not so much that the world does not know how or is unable to save children, but that not every child is able to benefit from existing measures and efforts. Therefore, delegates should try to figure out ways to expand programs and increase funding, as well as consider ways to promote more government leadership to
increase efforts at the national level. Remember, thousands of children are dying each day and this MD, set to change this sad fact, is the most off track of all of them. How can we get it back to where it should be? Possible Solutions Through partnership with governments, the World Health Organization, and other UN bodies, UNICEF works hard to achieve the fourth MDG and improve children s lives. The committee is charged with building upon UNICEF s efforts to make the necessary progress toward the goal. The targets outlined in the Global Strategy that seek to reduce child mortality by 2015 in the world s 49 lowest-income countries are as follows: for 43 million new users to have access to comprehensive family planning, for 19 million more women give birth supported by a skilled health worker with the necessary drugs, equipment, infrastructure, and regulations, for 2.2 million additional neonatal infections to be treated, for 21.9 million more infants to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, for 15.2 million more children to be fully immunized in their first year of life, for 117 million more children under five to receive vitamin A supplements, and for 85,000 more quality health facilities and up to 3.5 million more health workers to be available. 4 Thus, in order to write the best possible resolutions, it will probably be best to divide the topic into solutions that deal with the maternal/infant care aspect of the problem and those solutions that address access to lifesaving resources such as immunization, nets, and better nutrition and sanitation. As previously mentioned, the problem is not so much that the world does not know how or is unable to save children, but that not every child is able to benefit from existing measures and efforts. Therefore, delegates should try to figure out ways to expand programs and increase funding, as well as consider ways to promote more government leadership to increase efforts at the national level. Remember, thousands of children are dying each day and this MD, set to change this sad fact, is the most off track of all of them. How can we get it back to where it should be? Further Research Guiding Questions 1. What is the child mortality rate in your country? Has your government taken any actions on its own to address the problem, if there is one? 2. Has the UN taken any actions in your country that have been successful? Would they be as successful if tried in another country? 3. How is healthcare and sanitation in your country? Are there any measures that need to be taken to improve them and thus reduce child mortality? 4. How can we ensure that any actions taken or programs implemented will have enough money to continue successfully? How will we encourage governments, NGOs, and other groups to contribute? Research Sources https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ http://www.unicef.org/mdg/mortalitymultimedia/index.html http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41802.htm http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal4.cfm
http://www.childinfo.org/files/child_mortality_report_2011.pdf http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/goal_4_fs.pdf i 1 "AFP: Beckham Appeals over Child Deaths in Developing World." Google News. N.p., 22 Jan. 2008. Web. 18 Aug. 2012. <http://afp.google.com/article/aleqm5jz4csq776fchhf7i2tbxsf2bpapw>. 2 "Goal: Reduce Child Mortality." UNICEF. United Nations, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2012. <http://www.unicef.org/mdg/childmortality.html>. 3 Rep. no. DPI/2650 D. New York: UN Dept. of Public Information, 2010. Print. 4 Ban Ki-moon. Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. Working paper. The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, 2010. Web. 5 Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/goal_4_fs.pdf