Dominican Health Ministry Convenes International Agencies to Cut Maternal and Infant Deaths

The Health Ministry is bringing international agencies together to speed up efforts to reduce maternal, infant and newborn deaths in the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Ministry of Health held a coordination meeting with representatives of international organizations, cooperation agencies and health sector authorities to accelerate efforts to reduce maternal, infant and newborn mortality in the Dominican Republic.

The meeting was led by Minister Víctor Atallah, who acknowledged that the country has expanded service coverage, strengthened primary care and improved health infrastructure, but said gaps remain. "Having health services available is not enough; we need them to be accessible, timely, safe and of quality," he said.

Areas the government wants to strengthen include early identification of high-risk pregnancies, follow-up of pregnant women, emergency care during childbirth and newborn care. Atallah asked participants to make concrete commitments rather than simply exchange information.

The session, coordinated by the Collective Health Vice Ministry, included the presentation of the National Strategy to Accelerate the Reduction of Maternal Mortality and a dialogue to identify needs and opportunities for cooperation. Elisa Prieto, representative of PAHO/WHO, praised the initiative and stressed the importance of strengthening primary care, human resources and information systems.

The expected outcome includes a work agenda with actions, responsible parties, deadlines and indicators to track the commitments made.

Participants included the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, CDC, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Food Programme (WFP) and FAO.