Minister Paradis hosts round table on how to deliver tangible results for mothers and children in developing countries
August 27, 2014 - Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, met with the steering committee of the Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (CAN-MNCH) to discuss how to deliver tangible results to improve the health of mothers and children in developing countries. This meeting was part of the consultations that are being held from coast to coast to coast that were announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach summit, which took place in Toronto on May 28–30, 2014.
“The Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health has been instrumental in advancing the objectives of the 2010 Muskoka Initiative and efforts to improve maternal, newborn and child health around the world,” said Minister Paradis. “We look forward to further collaborating with the network in reaffirming our shared commitment to deliver more results and take real action to improve the health of the world’s most vulnerable women and children.
Canada is committed to scaling up interventions that will have the greatest impact on maternal and child survival, including nutrition, vaccines and newborn health. Today’s round table focused on how best to ensure that Canada’s renewed commitments on maternal, newborn and child health (2015–2020) will lead to improved health for women and children in developing countries, and how to strengthen results and accountability for Canadian investments.
In 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the Muskoka Initiative, which put maternal, newborn and child health at the forefront of global development efforts. Thanks to Canadian leadership and subsequent global action, maternal mortality rates are declining and millions more children are celebrating their fifth birthday. Recognizing there is much more work to be done, Prime Minister Harper hosted the Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach summit in Toronto in 2014. At the summit, Canada committed an additional $3.5 billion to continue support through to 2020, and issued the Toronto Statement, which reaffirms global consensus on a shared commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children under the age of five within a generation.
Sandrine Périon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
343-203-6238
sandrine.perion@international.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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