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40 billion dollars pledged for UN work to save babies, mothers
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 22 - 09 - 2010


Philanthropists, major charities and governments
pledged a total of 40 billion dollars to support the United Nations
programme to reduce infant and maternal deaths in the next five
years, the UN said Wednesday, according to dpa.
The pledges came on the final day of the UN General Assembly
session on the Millennium Development Goals, which began Monday with
government leaders in attendance to give a renewed boost to the plan,
whose success depends on available resources.
The assembly has agreed on an outcome document to end the three-
day debate, which will renew all governments' commitment to try to
achieve results as specified in the MDGs.
The fresh money will save the lives of 16 million women by 2015,
which is the target year for the MDGs to show concrete results. The
plan calls for reducing by two-thirds infant and maternal deaths.
Other goals include reducing extreme poverty, halting the
spread of HIV/AIDS and primary education for all children.
The UN said the money will prevent 33 million unwanted pregnancies
while protecting 120 million children from pneumonia and 88 million
children from stunting.
"We know what works to save women's and children's lives, and we
know that women and children are critical to all of the goals," UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said. "Today, we are witnessing the
kind of leadership we have long needed."
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed 1.5 billion
dollars for the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health,
while Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and the Salud Mesoamerica
foundation pledged 50 million dollars each.
Other donors include the BBC World Trust with 30 million dollars,
the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation with 28 million
dollars, the UN Foundation and its partners with 400 million dollars
and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation with 120 million
dollars.
A major part of the fresh pledges was made by the world's eight
leading industrialized nations (G8), which held their annual summit
in June in Toronto. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged
1.1 billion Canadian dollars in new and additional money for women's
and children's health under the Muskoka Initiative.
Government leaders attending the MDG conference joined together
Wednesday to call for stronger action to advance the goals of solving
poverty and health problems and providing sanitation and water for
all people.
The UN estimated that at least 2.6 billion people do not have
access to even a basic toilet and clean water, the consequences of
which include diarrhoea, the biggest killer of children in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Liberian President Johnson-Sirleaf said: "We cannot wait another
10 years. Let us act now to ensure that citizens everywhere can live
healthy and dignified lives, full of the promise and potential that
is their right."


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