May 15, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario
Check against delivery
Good morning everyone.
Thank you for inviting me to be here.
As many of you know, maternal, newborn and child health is the centrepiece of our Government’s international development policy.
Prime Minister Harper has been championing the health of women and children in developing countries since he launched the G-8 Muskoka Initiative on this issue in 2010.
A few weeks ago, he was at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, where he spoke about the three-day Summit that he will be hosting there later this month, called “Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach.”
The Summit will bring together Canadian and international experts from all over the world to accelerate efforts on maternal, newborn and child health.
When asked why Canada was so engaged with this issue, Prime Minister Harper explained that this is something Canadians are passionate about.
That it is the right thing to do.
And, what’s more, that is doable.
You don’t have to be a doctor or a health expert to agree with that statement.
The preventable deaths of mothers and children in developing countries are one of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century.
No mother should have to choose between herself and the health of her baby.
But the most recent data shows that more than 6 million children die before their fifth birthday.
And nearly 300,000 women die in pregnancy.
This is doubly tragic when we consider that most of these deaths could have been prevented with access to clean water, nutritious food, or the most basic health treatments.
We cannot stand idly by while women and young children in developing countries suffer deaths that are easily and inexpensively prevented.
That is why Prime Minister Harper galvanized global action to reduce maternal and child mortality rates through the Muskoka Initiative.
Thanks in part to the Muskoka Initiative, and subsequent global action, maternal mortality rates are declining.
And millions more children are celebrating their fifth birthday.
Our common goal has not yet been achieved - but it is within arm's reach.
Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law guide our principled foreign policy and we have a track record of concrete results.
Between 2010 and 2013, Canada's support has helped to provide:
- 5.8 million children with life-saving vaccinations;
- over 180 million children with two doses of Vitamin A each year – a key nutritional element for healthy development, immunity and eyesight; and
- close to 2 million pregnant women with iron and folic acid supplements to improve the outcomes of their pregnancies each year.
As a result, nutrition is improving.
The rates of disease are going down.
And more and better healthcare is available.
We can eliminate the preventable deaths of women, children and newborns, and save the millions of lives that hang in the balance.
Canadian organizations and health experts have played a crucial role in what we have achieved to date.
Dozens of Canadian organizations threw their weight and support behind the Muskoka Initiative.
Together, they formed the Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
We can all be proud of the work they have done around the world and of the leadership Canada has shown on the international stage.
But our job isn't done - not as long as lives are being needlessly lost.
Progress has been slowest in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including many conflict-affected states.
Since January 2012, Mali, which is a country of focus for Canadian international development assistance, has been experiencing a serious political, security, and humanitarian crisis. After an extended food crisis in the Sahel region, several armed groups occupied northern Mali, leading to a military coup on March 22, 2012. However, since a military intervention in January 2013, Mali has begun to re-establish its boundaries and create some stability.
In that context, and in advance of the Toronto Summit, I am pleased to announce that Canada is contributing $10 million to the Health Centre Construction and Rehabilitation project, to be carried out in Mali in partnership with the Government of the Netherlands.
The project will strengthen the health care system in southern Mali, where the security situation is more stable. Construction will be managed by Netherlands Cooperation with Canada contributing 46 percent of the cost. The health centres themselves will be managed by local communities.
The project will complete construction of much-needed health centres and rehabilitate highly deteriorated ones. It will also provide medical equipment such as obstetric delivery tables, ultrasound equipment, ambulances, solar vaccine refrigerators and stethoscopes, so that essential services can be offered to mothers and children.
Canada’s support contributes to social stability in southern Mali and will help to reduce the rates of maternal, newborn and child mortality through improved health care.
As a result of this project, nine referral health centres and three community health centres will be constructed and three health centres will be rehabilitated.
In addition, 11 referral health centres and 110 community health centres will receive equipment that will help them deliver essential health services.
Through this initiative and others, Canada will continue to push the health of mothers, newborns and children to the forefront of the global agenda.
And Canada will once again drive the world to action by hosting the high-level Summit on maternal, newborn and child health in Toronto later this month.
Saving the lives of women and children is not only a moral imperative – it is the foundation for building prosperous communities for this generation and the next.
This work reflects our most strongly held Canadian values.
And Canada will continue to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
Thank you.
