The protestors clashing with police got all the press, but the summits brought important developments for maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health as well. The G8 released the details of its Muskoka Initiative for Maternal and Child Health on Saturday, a five-year, $7.3 billion package for improving maternal, newborn, and child health and increasing access to reproductive health. It is estimated that at least $20 billion is needed to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for reduction in maternal and child mortality and reproductive health access by 2015. The Muskoka Initiative doesn’t come close to meeting that $20 billion shortfall, but it is an important start.
The UN Secretary-General has launched a Joint Action Plan to Improve the Health of Women and Children, and governments will be asked to make additional commitments to achieve the MDGs by 2015 at the September 2010 UN High-Level Plenary Meeting on the MDGs. The leaders at the G8 and G20 helped put maternal and child health on the map at this critical time, but simply raising awareness is not enough.
While the funds committed may not have been all we hoped for, there were some pleasant surprises in the communiqué details...
To learn more, read Amy's full report on FCI's website
Source :http://www.familycareintl.org/en/home
