World Vision's response to Prime Minister Harper's announcement of Saving Every Woman Every Child: Within Arm's Reach Summit

TORONTO, April 28, 2014 /CNW/ -

World Vision's President and CEO, Dave Toycen, said:

"Canada's continued focus and leadership on child and maternal health is something that we can all be proud of. This work is literally saving the lives of babies, children and mothers. The impact on the ground is clear. Canada's invitation to the world to come to us later this month at the Saving Every Woman Every Child: Within Arm's Reach Global Health Summit is critical to plotting out the next steps in ending preventable deaths beyond 2015.

This summit is an opportunity for Canada to lead the way by taking new action and putting money—to the tune of $3.25 Billion—on the table to reignite life-saving efforts so other countries, businesses, civil society and health leaders will follow Canada's lead and ante up. If this global momentum can be harnessed, ending preventable deaths within a generation is within our grasp.

In 2010 and 2011, Canada, the G8 and the world rallied—investing significantly in child and maternal health to bring life-saving health solutions to the communities and homes of women and children in developing countries. Since then, child and maternal death rates have come down faster than ever before. This progress shows that the proven, cost-effective and inexpensive interventions are working.

But they're not yet reaching everybody. There are still 6.6 million children dying every year before their fifth birthday and 258,000 women who die in pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these children and women are invisible—they haven't been counted, they are marginalized. They live in remote areas, urban slums and fragile states, like South Sudan and Afghanistan. They are those children and mothers who are part of ethnic minorities. They are the orphans and disabled people who have been relegated to the margins.

Canada must keep these children and mothers front and centre in its own development work and in the minds of global leaders as we look beyond 2015. If we don't reach them, we cannot end these senseless deaths."

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Visit our News Centre at worldvision.ca

SOURCE: World Vision Canada

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