Source: SOS Children's Village, Canada
21 Sept 2011
21/09/2011 - With meetings at the United Nations underway, Canada's Prime Minister has announced new funding for maternal and child health projects, of which accountability measures must play a key role. |
Though the Palestinian quest for statehood has been at the forefront of the coverage of this week's meetings at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, several important announcements regarding the health of women and children have also been made.
The Canadian government has decided to fund 28 maternal and child health projects over the next five years, announced Prime Minister Stephen Harper yesterday. By 2016, the government will deploy $82 million to support projects across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Globally, says the UN, eight million children die of preventable illnesses annually, while 350,000 women die of complications of pregnancy or childbirth. At the same time, 600,000 more young people are surviving early childhood, while 70,000 mothers are surviving childbirth – proving that with effort, concrete gains can be made. The UN hopes to save the lives of 16 million women and children living in the 49 poorest countries in the world.
The Canadian funds were committed more than a year ago through the G8 Muskoka Initiative. This brings the present allocation of funds to $740 million and the total number of projects to 51. In total, $2.85 billion has been pledged for the 2010-2015 period. This figure includes the $1.1 billion pledged at last year's G8 summit in Ontario.
While attending this week's high-level meetings at the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister said that the international plan to spend $40 billion on the health of women and children will depend on accountability and wise use of the funds.
"As we press for accountability,” he said, “always remember that mothers, children and newborns ... are counting on us."
Given the recent austerity measures undertaken by countries, questions have been raised about how these aid plans can be financed.
"The key is accountability," said Mr. Harper.
Indeed, Dr. Julio Frenk of the World Health Organization (WHO) has noted that poor countries are taking on greater financial responsibilities for their own development needs. This, he says, shows a transition from a "paternalistic" development model to one of "shared accountability." Among these countries are Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Nepal, who are setting aside more funds for the health of women and children. Both Bangladesh and Nepal, for instance, have trained thousands of skilled birth attendants.
Prime Minister Harper was the co-chair of a UN Commission on maternal and child health. The report, entitled, Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, was compiled over the past few months, and makes ten recommendations for ensuring accurate health data on the needs of women and children, as well as for ensuring accountability.
Among the recommendations are taking steps to register vital events (including births, deaths and cause of death); integrating technological improvements in health information systems; making available more detailed information on health care expenditures in the 75 countries with high maternal and child death rates; and ensuring that government can regularly review funding allocation to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health care. The suggested deadline for progress on these recommendations is 2015 – also the deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of which maternal and child health are critical components.
Yet, despite progress, few countries are completely on target to meet these goals. According to research by the Health Metrics and Evaluation unit of the University of Washington in Seattle, only China, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Maldives, Mongolia, Peru, Syria and Tunisia are expected to meet both MDGs on maternal and child health. A total of 31 countries are likely to achieve the two-thirds reduction in child mortality from 1990 levels by 2015, though only 13 are likely to achieve the three-quarters reduction in maternal mortality over the same period.
Recently-announced projects funded by Canada will be implemented in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Laos, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Agencies awarded funding include several Canadian universities as well as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Canada, Aga Khan Foundation, Canadian Red Cross, Christian Children's Fund of Canada, Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, CHF, Plan Canada, Save the Children, World University Service of Canada, and World Vision.
The Canadian government has decided to fund 28 maternal and child health projects over the next five years, announced Prime Minister Stephen Harper yesterday. By 2016, the government will deploy $82 million to support projects across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Globally, says the UN, eight million children die of preventable illnesses annually, while 350,000 women die of complications of pregnancy or childbirth. At the same time, 600,000 more young people are surviving early childhood, while 70,000 mothers are surviving childbirth – proving that with effort, concrete gains can be made. The UN hopes to save the lives of 16 million women and children living in the 49 poorest countries in the world.
The Canadian funds were committed more than a year ago through the G8 Muskoka Initiative. This brings the present allocation of funds to $740 million and the total number of projects to 51. In total, $2.85 billion has been pledged for the 2010-2015 period. This figure includes the $1.1 billion pledged at last year's G8 summit in Ontario.
While attending this week's high-level meetings at the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister said that the international plan to spend $40 billion on the health of women and children will depend on accountability and wise use of the funds.
"As we press for accountability,” he said, “always remember that mothers, children and newborns ... are counting on us."
Given the recent austerity measures undertaken by countries, questions have been raised about how these aid plans can be financed.
"The key is accountability," said Mr. Harper.
Indeed, Dr. Julio Frenk of the World Health Organization (WHO) has noted that poor countries are taking on greater financial responsibilities for their own development needs. This, he says, shows a transition from a "paternalistic" development model to one of "shared accountability." Among these countries are Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Nepal, who are setting aside more funds for the health of women and children. Both Bangladesh and Nepal, for instance, have trained thousands of skilled birth attendants.
Prime Minister Harper was the co-chair of a UN Commission on maternal and child health. The report, entitled, Keeping Promises, Measuring Results, was compiled over the past few months, and makes ten recommendations for ensuring accurate health data on the needs of women and children, as well as for ensuring accountability.
Among the recommendations are taking steps to register vital events (including births, deaths and cause of death); integrating technological improvements in health information systems; making available more detailed information on health care expenditures in the 75 countries with high maternal and child death rates; and ensuring that government can regularly review funding allocation to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health care. The suggested deadline for progress on these recommendations is 2015 – also the deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of which maternal and child health are critical components.
Yet, despite progress, few countries are completely on target to meet these goals. According to research by the Health Metrics and Evaluation unit of the University of Washington in Seattle, only China, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Maldives, Mongolia, Peru, Syria and Tunisia are expected to meet both MDGs on maternal and child health. A total of 31 countries are likely to achieve the two-thirds reduction in child mortality from 1990 levels by 2015, though only 13 are likely to achieve the three-quarters reduction in maternal mortality over the same period.
Recently-announced projects funded by Canada will be implemented in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Laos, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Agencies awarded funding include several Canadian universities as well as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Canada, Aga Khan Foundation, Canadian Red Cross, Christian Children's Fund of Canada, Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, CHF, Plan Canada, Save the Children, World University Service of Canada, and World Vision.
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