In May 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper hosted the highly successful Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach summit in Toronto, which provided renewed momentum to advance maternal, newborn and child health as a global priority beyond 2015. At the summit, Prime Minister Harper committed to consulting Canadians, as well as civil society, academic and private sector organizations, over the summer. These discussions will build on the immense success of the summit and ensure Canadians’ wealth of expertise continues to shape Canada’s top development priority.
Consultations will also inform programming decisions concerning Canada’s $3.5-billion commitment to maternal, newborn and child health through 2015–2020.
Over the course of the summit, leaders and experts worked together to advance three priority themes:
Getting results for women and children – Summit participants highlighted the benefits of coordinated action and the successes achieved since 2010. Leaders and experts also pointed to the importance of providing increased support for nutrition through key partners such as the Micronutrient Initiative, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and UNICEF. In addition, summit participants welcomed the announcement that Germany would host the GAVI replenishment meeting in 2015 and called on all partners to increase their support to the GAVI Alliance.
Doing more together globally – Summit participants called for increased efforts to work together. They also called for more timely, reliable, accurate and accessible health information as a critical catalyst for greater accountability within national health systems. In addition, they agreed that a wider spectrum of expertise and resources is needed, including from traditional partners, local governments, the private sector, civil society and citizens.
Taking real action on women’s and children’s health – Summit participants called on all partners to maintain progress and increase momentum on efforts to achieve United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4 (to reduce child mortality) and 5 (to improve maternal health) by the end of 2015. Summit discussions also made it clear that ending preventable deaths of women and children within a generation will mean carrying forward the lessons learned, including the need for political leadership, sustained financial commitments, robust accountability measures, and a renewed focus on the approaches that are proven to save the lives of women and children.
Participants welcomed Canada’s renewed commitment of $3.5 billion toward MNCH through 2015–2020 and called on other global donors to meet their commitments to women and children, leading up to and beyond 2015. Summit discussions also emphasized the need for common goals and for governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, businesses and health leaders to ensure that ending preventable maternal, newborn and under-five child mortality by 2030 is a central priority within the post-2015 development agenda.
During today’s round table, the following initiative was announced:
Enhanced Capacity of Frontline Health Workers to Reduce Mortality ($15 million)
As of 2011, less than half of pregnant women in Nigeria gave birth with the assistance of a skilled attendant (48 percent), and even fewer (45 percent) delivered in a health facility. One in eight children born in Nigeria will not reach his/her fifth birthday. Through this project, Canada is helping increase the quantity and quality of midwives, nurses and community health extension workers in Bauchi and Cross River states and improve the delivery of maternal, newborn and child health care services at the primary care level.
Frontline health workers are expected to reach an estimated 1.9 million pregnant women and mothers and 1.7 million children under the age of five, thereby reducing the mortality of women and children and the overall disease burden. The project is implemented by the World Health Organization and its supporting partners, Population Council and the Global Health Workforce Alliance.
The goal ofCanada's international development program inNigeriais to help the country achieve equitable and sustainable poverty reduction by improving the country's ability to use its own resources for development. Canada supports efforts that focus on securing a future for children and youth, and stimulating sustainable economic growth in two states: Bauchi and Cross River.
For more information on Canada’s programming in Nigeria, visit Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada’s website.
