Over the past year, as political candidates have waged an ongoing discussion of the perceived health needs of the American public, the reality of the situation for mothers and young children is that the current presidential administration is bleak, and the future is no more reassuring.  We in the MCH community are aware of the critical nature of these problems, and expect to use this presidential election to raise awareness and focus public and political concern on the needs of American mothers and children.  The MCH Section is developing an agenda of concerns, and a proposed set of interventions to present to the new President and Congress. The failure of the SCHIP funding efforts is central, but not limiting to this new agenda.  Passage of the original bill would have helped with the process, but would not have fully addressed all the concerns facing this target population. This agenda-setting discussion is ongoing now, and will be part of the MCH program at the Annual Meeting in San Diego.    

There have been several activities and events during the past year that have contributed to this development.  This winter, a group of MCH agencies met in Tampa at the Chiles Center to discuss an agenda for change.  Gillian Silver reported on this meeting in the last edition of the MCH Section newsletter.  This meeting clarified the diversity of needs MCH stakeholders hold as essential.  The group prepared questions to be put to the two presidential candidates in the upcoming campaign, and also discussed the need for a White House level conference on the status of  MCH programs and policies.

Recently, the Commonwealth Fund published another omnibus report on the performance of the child health system.  This document presents graphic data on each state’s system, and shows wide variations among states in what is available and provided for children in each jurisdiction.  The need to develop a national standard is evident in the lengthy discussion of this research.

Debbie Klein Walker, past president of APHA and past chair of the MCH Section, has taken up this challenge and has been working on a symposium for the Annual Meeting to address this issue.  A two-hour session is planned for Monday afternoon as a “kick-off” to the development of such an agenda.  The session will be a second in a series of programs established to involve MCH advocates from each of the state affiliates. 

During the last year, Holly Grason and Jane Pearson have been involved with the student fellows reviewing and rewriting the body of Child Health Policies for APHA. (These policies are available on the MCH Web site for review.)  These policies reach back into the mid-twentieth century.  While many things have changed, the extent and urgency of these problems remain.

The Maternal and Child Health Section has an important role to play in setting this agenda in the new century.  It is time for each member to take the time to look at the big picture and see how it needs to be changed and prioritized.  While each individual’s view is relevant to establishing these guideposts for care of mothers and their children, it is our individual and collective action which will assure improved health care for this target population.

Barbara Levin