At UN summit, FCI commits to Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health

September 2010

FCI formally committed its support to the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, which was launched at a historic summit on September 22nd in New York during the 2010 General Assembly meeting. FCI’s commitment was one of several dozen—from governments, donors, academic institutions, health professional associations, and NGOs—that, together, form the heart of the Global Strategy and its plan to save the lives of 16 million women and children. At the launch event, entitled Every Woman, Every Child, governments, donors, NGOs, and other stakeholders made pledges totalling $40 billion for improved maternal and child health programs and services.

In our commitment, FCI pledged to advocate tirelessly for expansion of funding for maternal, newborn, and child health, and for their integration with HIV/AIDS and broader health system interventions; to facilitate the active engagement of civil society in health and development policy and programs; and to demand that all stakeholders are held accountable for fulfilling their commitments. “We are grateful for the role that FCI has been privileged to play in bringing this moment to pass,” the statement concludes, “and commit FCI’s full efforts to ensuring that this historic opportunity does not go to waste.”

In our leading advocacy role in the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, FCI has been integrally involved in developing the Global Strategy. We worked closely with the Secretary-General’s office, and with a broad range of governments and other partners, in a process that began in 2009 with the Global Consensus for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. FCI played a crucial role in coordinating the participation of NGOs and other civil society groups, in soliciting their support and commitment, and in ensuring that maternal and reproductive health goals were given high priority in the text.

The Global Strategy cuts across all the Millennium Development Goals, especially those related to health (MDGs 4, 5 and 6). It will serve as a global roadmap to identify and mobilize resources, policies, and critical interventions that will save the lives of more than 16 million women and children.

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