(less than the 15 per cent recommended by who for most african countries) combined with often unorthodox financial governance. main strategies the strategies outlined below are recommended by who and adopted by all african countries as part of a bolder approach to serious child health problems. their strengths reside in the complementarity of components integrated into strategies, the effectiveness in reducing child mortality and morbidity, and the positive long-term impact generated for children, such as enhanced school performance, well-being and life chances. these strategies offer an immediate return while having a significant impact on the future. integrated management of childhood illness (imci) imci is a strategy that integrates various programmes for the survival of children under 5 with a view to improving the practices that are likely to have the greatest impact on their health, growth and development. this is the overarching strategy for achieving mdg 4 (reduction of child mortality), and it is recommended by who and unicef, particularly in countries with a high child mortality rate. the strategy is simple and, according to the world bank, cost-effective. it aims to address the main causes of child mortality in settings characterized by (1) a low level of health coverage, with little or no access to diagnostic equipment and treatment, (2) a low level of health monitoring, and (3) weak links between healthcare facilities and communities. imci has three components: (1) improving the skills of health care workers, (2) strengthening the health care system, and (3) improving family and community practices. emergency obstetric and neonatal care (emonc) maternal and neonatal mortality in the africa region accounts for more than half (51 per cent) of the world's total maternal deaths, with a neonatal mortality rate of approximately 40 per thousand. the causes of these deaths could be prevented or avoided by the proper implementation of strategies for skilled care at birth and emergency obstetric and neonatal care services. with the assistance of who, unicef, unfpa and the world bank, various african countries have developed roadmaps for accelerating the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality by improving the skills of service providers, standardizing treatment protocols, and developing quality criteria for emonc. while effective interventions and strategies for improving the health and nutrition status of young children are available, the financial resources required to implement them in africa are inadequate. it is essential that african governments, their domestic partners (the private sector and civil society) and their partners abroad (bilateral and multilateral cooperation) invest more heavily in mobilizing resources for early childhood development. the focus should be on optimal governance of financial resources with transparent management rules and particular emphasis on equity of care and guaranteed access for the poor.