Ethiopia calls for more progress on tackling child mortality in Africa

More needs to be done to reduce child mortality rates in Africa, the Ethiopian government has said.

According to Kesetebirhan Admasu, minister of health in the country, Africa is currently at a critical juncture in its efforts to meet targets such as its 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

As a result, he believes the success of any initiatives to prevent child deaths will depend heavily on whether there is strong leadership and action in each individual country.

"I strongly believe we can only accelerate our progress if we renew our commitments and live up to providing increased, sustained and more harmonised leadership and support," Mr Admasu commented.

He was speaking at the African Leadership for Child Survival – A Promise Renewed conference.

This saw health ministers from across the continent meet with experts from around the world to discuss what steps can be taken to reduce child mortality rates in the future.