On the concluding day of the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, a concerted effort to save the lives of more than 16 million women and children.
In support of the Secretary-General’s new global strategy, foundations, civil society, private sector companies and other partners pledged more than US$ 40 billion in resources for women’s and children’s health.
“The 21st century must be and will be different for every woman and every child” said Secretary-General Ban in a press release announcing the strategy.
A high level panel was convened on 22 September to discuss the strategy. Participants included H.E. Wen Jiabao, Premier of China, H.E. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, H.E. Mizengo Pinda, Prime Minister of Tanzania, and H.E. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State.
International organizations including UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and the World Bank were in attendance and are collaborating on a new initiative to mobilize political and operational support.
“I am committed to the Secretary-General’s strategy on women’s and children’s health—the response to his call is unprecedented,” said Mr Sidibé. “It is clear we must leverage investments in the HIV response to support progress across all the MDGs.”
The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health is a roadmap that identifies the financial and policy changes needed as well as critical interventions required to improve health and save lives.
The UN estimates that from 2011 to 2015 by implementing the Global Strategy many far-reaching gains will be made, from averting the deaths of 15 million children under five to preventing 740,000 women from dying of pregnancy and childbirth-related complications.
Read Press Release here.
