Pictures, people, promises and passion

London is greyer and wetter than NY-but the coffee is better, and much needed after finally leaving JFK at 130 am. Sleeping sitting up is an art I have perfected, but by then I could have slept standing up-so my apologies if last night’s comments were not particularly insightful or detailed.
 
So now a few reflections on the last few days-firstly some of the personal pictures I will be keeping in my mental photo album :
 
The first sight, every morning, of the UN, the world’s flags fluttering in the sunlight of a clear NY morning-a real reminder that while it may not be perfect, and often gets it wrong, it’s the best hope we have to a shared collective vision of a better world-and we need to make it work.
 
Watching a whispered, quick conversation between Nafis Sadik and Thoraya Obaid in the dimmed light of the ECOSOC room yesterday as the panellists changed-two very different women, with very different styles, from different cultures, who shared a vision and have led UNFPA on the real issues of our time, issues of choice and aspiration that are at the heart of the daily life of people across the globe. I hope the selection process next week will find us someone who can follow them in engaging world leaders and civil society at every level in spite of politics and pressures of every kind.
 
– UNAIDs  Michel Sidibe’s indefatigable  energy and passion for what he believes the world can do to win the fight against HIV.
– The perplexed expression on the face of Asa Regner, Secretary General of RFSU, one of the oldest Member Associations of IPPF and respected universally for tireless, powerful work on rights (‘Sex is politics’), as she discussed the results of the Swedish election
– Graca Machel, tall and colourful, putting aside her speech to speak from the heart, reminding us that the words at the UN are important-but it is the translation of them into action at the local level of every village and community that matters.
– The clearly articulated vision and determination of so many young leaders, some already in positions of influence, like the Danish all party parliamentarian group,  many with impressive experience, qualifications and huge commitment that I would not have dreamed of at their age-but they can and will create a resilient more sustainable world.
 
Conversations: should the GFATM be enlarged to include maternal and reproductive health, what is feminism today, how to get more meaningful engagement of civil society at every level. They deliver half the health services in many countries, yet 24 speakers across 6 round tables, each speaking for 3 minutes, and in some cases reduced to 1 minute because of lack of time, together with some 25 observers passes a day do not create a space for mutually respectful dialogue and engagement-though some states and UN staff would welcome this, others may not-but this needs to change urgently at every level,  as we move towards 2015.
 
And from IPPFs perspective many things: A renewed sense of how important and unique our Federation is, the breadth of its mission, its willingness to work across such a breadth of issues, its volunteer base and structure of autonomous Member Associations, community based NGOs, united by common principles and vision, they can show what country-owned, sustainable development can be, with their dual roles of programmes and advocacy at every level.
 
With this in mind we have made significant additional commitments in the Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, well beyond those in the published summary, both as IPPF, and as a member of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition. (That topic of supplies is another whole series of blogs I’m afraid!). We were able to make clear recommendations to Member States for the next 5 years, through the Roundtables, and to raise issues of the loss of life and well being related to unsafe illegal abortion and sexual rights and the need to address these, in order to achieve human rights, justice, equity and development.
 
We will now need to analyse the promises made by ourselves, others NGOs and states in this and the outcome document, after it is adopted today. We will need to consider how we can deliver our new model of comprehensive sexuality education, integrate HIV, human rights, gender equity and health and sexuality; how we can contribute through our Declaration of Sexual Rights and advocacy, while monitoring our own and others’ achievements. In the meantime, we succeeded in raising the issues of gender, women and girls and young people through statements and side events and calling attention to the urgent need to invest in young people, and the importance of partnership at every level. In Minister Carlssons word we, and our issues, were very evident-despite the challenges!
 
So now the work begins.
 
There is much more that I will return to another time, for us in IPPF, and more widely-some powerful lines to quote-and genuinely considered commitments, plus I have a bag full of new reports and publications to share!
 
But, in the meantime as I go, back to the office now, a moment to think about what will it mean for the world. The cynics will say ‘very little’, those who oppose multilateralism will be far fiercer in their condemnation, but for the rest of us-we must think about how we can help to take it forward, because we now have that chance. 
 
Certainly it wasn’t Cairo or Beijing-but then it’s the General Assembly, not a conference, and the world is in a very different place. Progress has been made. Today we are at a point where there are new promises to be implemented-and they must be- as time is too short for too many for this not to happen. We need to contribute-individually and collectively to make this happen. 

Regards, Gill

A veritable whirlwind

Sitting in a  traffic jam in New York, wiith the city gridlocked. Because President Obama and State Secretary  Hilary Clinton are in town  seems a good place to try to write a blog! At least a better thing to do than worry about whether or not I’lll make the plane.!

A few quick hiighlights from yesterday – a day of meetings, and side events, and conversations – some great  MPs – from Denmark and Belgium – what commitment the Danes have to ODA, srhr and young people – and how valuable that has been.

Meetings too with possible new donors, and several side events which deserve a proper discussion. At one on PMTCT, hosted by UNICEF and UNAIDS, a member of South Africa’s Mothers for Mothers spoke so clearly and simply of her shock and fear when first diagnosed, -‘I was afraid of living, and afraid of dying’. Today she is a mentor for others experiencing the same fear.

At UNICEF there was a robust discussion by 4 INGOs of issues raised in a new UNICEF report, including the issues of local ownership, and equity, and the importance of reaching the hardest to reach, as we work so hard to do in IPPF. According to UNICEFs new. research, this is not only the right thing to do, in terms of equity, but is also cost effective- an important point to counter those who would suggest we should focus on  reaching the most accessible.

I also had a stimulating meeting with Cecile and senior people at PPFA, hearing about how they have worked to build a more collaborative shared culture across affiliates, including developments like their new  website, with information for young people and clients, and an on line learning platform- the number of visits is remarkable, and there is much that we can learn from all this  which they’re generously willing to share, and I’m looking forward to finding out more. 

They are also a Member Association which has an extraordinary history, and a commitment that has never wavered – a real example of ‘brave and angry’ or perhaps it’s more like intelligent rage as they continue to counter the challenges that continue to confront them.

This morning’s side event, with UNFPA  on young people driving development went well,  over 120 people, which was impressive,  given that it was a relatively early start, and so much else was on. Another great young chair – Maria Antonieta from our WHR office who kept us all firmly within time!

The panel was a good intergenerational mix of young, (Samuel from Ghana,) and not so young, (Thoraya Obaid, Michael Cashman European MP and me)!  a range of topics which included, the need for policies and programmes that recognise realities of young people’s lives, youth advocacy and leadership, the recent Mexico world youth conference, the role of church and state, and there was also time to acknowledge Thoraya’s commitment to engagement with civil society and young people. We can only hope her successor will have the same.

There was time too  for a few questions – and a strong contribution from the First Lady of Georgia, who is very knowledgeable and active on SRH issues.-what a difference that kind of leadership can make.

 (I’ll interrupt this here just to say that I’ve made it to the airport, where we are experiencing a major storm – thunder, rain and lightning – worthy  of ‘King Lear’ – and all flights are delayed – it’s beginning to seem like one of those nights when the all things conspire against me!!)

But back to today – if you’re still hanging on in there….

I was forunate to be invited to the UK Mission to a meeting of UK based  NGOs with Deputy PM Nick Clegg, and Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell. Both seemed to take on board the variety of issues that we raised with remarkable speed, (water, women, nutrition, health, MDG5B, disability, innovative financing, education, civil society engagement…) and responded thoughtfully, and with genuine interest.

Responding in this way – and making time  to do meet are positive signs of a willingness to engage with civil society – hopefully they will encourage this with other partner governments – and the UN!

From there I joined the line for the launch of the Secretary General’s global health strategy for women and girls’ Every Woman Every Child. During the wait in line (anyone from the UK read queue!)  I met a Canadian FIGO member from Canada, who is keen to explore a relationship between their new hospital, and our MA, met a friend who had just been to NZ to contribute to a midwifery conference, caught up with a couple of donors, and exchanged notes on books about assessing impact.

The temporary ECOSOC room was packed, and checked out by security dogs (golden retrievers -an unusual choice?) The moderator was Zeinab Badawi – a well know UK tv broadcaster who interviewed  Dr Mahmoud Fathallah, on BBC, when he received his award from IPPF last November, and recently covered some of our issues at the AU summit – wearing a beautiful white jacket with double rows of buttons she looked a little like a ringmaster as she paced in front of the podium, endeavouring ‘with respect’ to keep heads of state within their 3 minute time limit-not an easy task!

On the first of the four panels, the Secretary General, spoke of the strategy as a ‘clear road map’ and a broad partnership’ and talked of investing in women’s and children’s health as having a multiplier effect, of wome’s empowerment and women leading the way. He introduced Micelle Bachelet, (red jacket),  the new head of UN women who received enthusiastic applause. The Nowegian PM was unequivocal – the present situation for women and girls is unacceptable’. Talking of more money for health and more health for the money, he pledged to allocate increased finds, remarking that what makes the Strategy different is that it has gained commitments from governments and civil society.

I think I’d add that it has also encouraged specific country commitments rather than a general and  collective commitment by all member states-some of which have seen little concrete implementation.. Nigeria for example pledged to reach the Abuja target, and Tanzania made a number of very specific commitments, including some related to family planning.

Hilary Clinton (red jacket too) announced a joint initiative between the Aid agencies of UK,US, Australia and Gates, to increase access to family planning, reduce maternal newborn and child mortality, Nick Clegg, outlined the commitments already made , remarking that donors are finding ‘money is tight but time is getting tighter’.

Melinda Gates spoke of commitments to fp, and the need for low cost high impact interventions, while Kevin Rudd ( now Australias foreign affairs minister) said it would go down ‘as a good day for women’ and challenged  donors to multi year commitments of funding.

World Vision represented BRAC, CARE, SAVE ie those who gave financial commitments, and those. Who made other commitments and endorsements spoke of the role of civil society and their commitment of 1.5 billion over 5 years. (Unfortunately our 2 commitments were compressed to gether under one short para, and we will need to follow up how they will appear in future.

On later panels Graca Machel thanked the DG for ‘finally’ placing the issue high on the agenda, ther role women will need to play, the importance of health systems that deliver near to where women are.

So a few points I hope that give a flavour-and now to catch a plane I hope, and reflect on the value of the week.

Global Strategy commitments

An estimated US$40 billion has been pledged to advance the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy on women’s and children’s health. The financial commitments to the Global Strategy  will help ensure progress is made on women and children’s health by the MDG deadline of 2015. The pledges have come from over 40 countries and a number of CSOs, foundations and the private sector.

How much of the financial pledges constitutes new money remains a little unclear, but whatever, it is still a sizeable investment. Let’s hope that the funding combined with the political will has the impact in intend and makes a real difference to achieving MDGs 4 and 5.

Go Denmark!

The Prime Minister of Denmark has just highlighted the importance of SRHR for achieving the MDGs at the launch of the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy.

“Women are agents of development, there’s no chance whatsoever of achieving MDGs without strengthened focus on empowerment of women. Women must be able to decide freely if and when they want to have children and must have access to health services when giving birth. Denmark supports developing countries in the realization of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights”

CSOs under the table

The statements made by Civil Society Organizations  (CSOs) at the 6 MDG Summit Roundtables have been put up on line. But not so the speeches made by Member States.

The Roundtables were more or less the only forum by which civil society could participate at the Summit. However, even then CSOs were not always able to participate in any meaningful way. This was especially the case in Roundtable 1 where only 1 NGO out of the 4 was given the opportunity to speak. And on other Roundtables, some CSOs that did manage to speak were asked to cut their speeches from 3 minutes to just 1 – because Member States had not been able to keep to the 5 minute rule.

The 6 Round Tables focussed on the following themes:

Roundtable 1: Addressing the challenge of poverty, hunger and gender equality
Roundtable 2: Meeting the goals of health and education
Roundtable 3: Promoting sustainable development
Roundtable 4: Addressing emerging issues and evolving approaches
Roundtable 5: Addressing the special needs of the most vulnerable
Roundtable 6: Widening and strengthening partnerships

Panel Event success

Earlier today we held our panel event with UNFPA at the Helmsley Hotel. To say it was a success would be a major understatement. We seemed to be cramming more and more people into an already packed room that was already heaving with high level dignitaries, including Ministers from Namibia, Nigeria and elsewhere, the First Lady of Georgia, MPs and senior civil servants from a wide range of countries. Even the Holy See came along to check out the speeches, all of which were great.

Fortunately, the hotel asked us yesterday if we wouldn’t mind moving to a larger room – and thank goodness they did. We were truly packed out and had around 140 people squeeze into a room meant for 100. It was cosy.

Oh yes, the hotel wanted our room as they were expecting Hilary Clinton along with the Presidents of Honduras and El Salvador to speak later that morning. And yes, I did sneak in for a while and listen to her speak. Who wouldn’t?

As for the speakers at our event Michael Cashman MEP gave a truly impassioned speech about the hypocrisies that cause people to live in fear. He directed his ire at the ‘men in frocks’ who have so much influence yet so little knowledge when it comes to reproductive health and who perpetuate the supply of false information such as ‘condoms don’t protect’ that directly leads to the deaths of so many. It was Thoraya Obaid however who spoke first and she addressed the assembled guests with the usual authority and insight that you would expect. Samuel Kissi of the Curious Minds NGO in Ghana spoke next and focused our attention on the need to ensure youth were engaged in PRSP processes. Gill Greer spoke with passion and insight on the theme of Universal access to reproductive health of adolescent girls and young women while Priscilla Vera Hernandez gave a brief analysis of the Youth Summit in Mexico. Naturally, the event was excellently moderated by our dear colleague Maria Antonieta Alcalde of IPPF WHR

This was a very successful event and much of it is due to our dear colleagues at both IPPF/WHR including Mirellise and Emily, and Prateek at UNFPA, with whom it was a real pleasure to organize this event

The end is nigh …

Wednesday sees the culmination of the 2010 MDG Summit. As such this is the time when the remaining big hitters will be around.

President Obama is due to speak on Wednesday and the Secretary General of the United Nations will launch the much hyped Global Strategy on women and children’s health We already know what the US think of the MDGs thanks to the release of the “CELEBRATE, INNOVATE & SUSTAIN Toward 2015 and Beyond: The United States’ Strategy for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals”. As for the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy, well there seems to have been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to drum up support and pledges for this initiative. As such we have heard of a few countries that have said they will support it with large sums of money. The UN Foundation too has promised it will support the Global Strategy with a pledge of US$400 million. NGOs too have made a number of commitments to the Global Strategy and IPPF commitments can be found here.

By this time tomorrow we will know exactly what has been pledged and keeping track of what has been promised will be an important part of any post-Summit accountability exercise.

Tomorrow also sees Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg deliver the UK’s statement to the Summit. Prior to that, IPPF as part of a BOND delegation will visit the DPM to get across our final thoughts and comments about how the Summit has gone and the line that the DPM should take, maybe not just here in New York, but afterwards too.

However, it would appear that there is little real opportunity to influence the UK’s Summit statement as part of it looks to have been leaked to the Guardian newspaper already. And if what it says is true, and what we hear from sources very close to the horses mouth is confirmed, then I don’t think there will be too many people in the reproductive health community that will complain, well not too loudly anyway.  

In other news, and apart from having countless meetings with some extremely interesting civil servants, politicians and UN agencies today I continue to keep on bumping into an eclectic mix of famous faces. This time Bob Geldof walking by on the street, and then Madeline Albright hugging people in a hotel bar. It can only be New York.

For the record …

For those of you wanting to keep an eye on what your government (or even other governments) are saying at the Summit then please visit this statements page.

Better still, you can watch each country make their statement via the UNs webcast service

And if you would like to see which countries have been allocated which of the six Round Tables then please drop me a line via the comment box below and I will forward the list to you. We may even be able to provide some of the comments from the various Round Tables!

Something important for Wednesday

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we have our special panel event entitled 1.8 Billion strong: Young people driving the MDGswhich has been organized in conjunction with UNFPA.

The panelists will focus on making the case for prioritizing and investing in young people so as to accelerate progress on the MDGs. There is an excellent line up of key speakers including Dr Gill Greer (IPPF); Thoraya Obaid (UNFPA); Michael Cashman MEP, Samuel Kissi (Curious minds – Ghana); and Priscilla Vera Hernández (Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud). The event will be excellently moderated by our dear colleague Maria Antonieta Alcalde of IPPF/WHR.

We look forward to seeing you at 09:00 at the New York Helmsley Hotel, 212 E 42nd Street.

As they say, arrive early to avoid disappointment

RT 2 – country comments

Below are some very brief notes of statements made by different countries at the Roundtable on Health and Education. These notes, for that is what they are, should not be taken as verbatim  

Hungary
We have a long tradition of providing knowledge based assistance. The speaker emphasised importance of physical education for lifting the self-esteem of people. Hungary is proving development assistance in training teachers. We have considerable experience in developing health care systems which are shared along with medical breakthroughs. Hungary committed to achieving health related MDGs. 
 
Lesotho
We have a situation in Lesotho where we think we will be able to achieve MDG 3. Indicators are that data is that Lesotho is on track to meet MDG 2. We have major challenges related to the goals related to health. The challenge is mainly down to HIV and AIDS which disproportionately affects the young and vulnerable. We call on developing countries to call on replenishment of the Global Fund, All MDGs are inter-related, and success in achieving goals 1 2 and 3 could be undermined by failure on the others. A major challenge is also resources where we need assistance.
 
Lichtenstein
Welcomed engagement of CSOs in the RT. Progress on education is crucial to achieve all the other MDGs. Our development projects work towards sustainable development including access to education for women and girls in rural areas at secondary level. Women’s empowerment is an urgent priority. Maternal and child mortality remain at an unacceptable level. My government prioritises the funding on vulnerable groups – such as children affected by HIV. They need access to healthcare to overcome other – it is a basic human right. Thanked the SG for his strategy and offered his full support. We want better accountability and have endorsed the Muskoka initiative which will help bring health MDGs up to speed. We are particularly worried by maternal and child health.
 
Vanuatu
Spoke on behalf of 14 countries. We have made some progress but much remains to be done. Quality of care, maternal health family planning, youth friendly services, STIs and HIV prevention and treatment are all vital – water and sanitation required across all countries across the Pacific. Most child deaths are from prevalent causes such as pneumonia, diarrhoea etc. Much could be done in regard to skilled birth attendants – as they can only reach 40% in most isolated parts of the country
 
Zimbabwe (President Robert Mugabe)
Education and health is taken very seriously. We realise that for a child to secure good education that child must be healthy. A healthy mind can only reside in a healthy body. We believe in healthcare delivery through a primary health focus. We remain (despite the downturn) determined to prioritise essential services in our national budget. We have given education 1st place in our budget. Health is also prioritised. We are committed to the Abuja 15% undertaking and to ensuring that all children can complete primary school education. Innovative healthcare financing remains a priority but we recognise the need of vibrant community participation in health financing. We have adopted the WHO guidelines on HIV in principle. We will under old guidelines work to achieve universal access goal. We have fought against HIV – 12,7 incidence. No woman should die giving life. We are very concerned about child and maternal mortality. We are committed to removing user fees in our fight against maternal and neo-natal mortality. We will establish a child, maternal fund to achieve MDGs 1, 4 and 5.  The sanctions are affecting the lives of our children, and our programmes related to health and education. We are confident of reaching the targets by 2015 if we can continue the momentum made.

Algeria – MoFA
We have made considerable progress in health and education but many in our region face major problems.
 
Honduras – President.
We are working to achieve the MDGs. Economic crises and natural disasters destroy our crops and infrastructure and hamper us in our tasks. Education and health are the chief priorities of our government. We are promoting education and health very strongly and are focusing on local and regional indicators which will engage parents, civil society etc We have a duty of solidarity with those who least.
 
Prince Albert of Monaco
Health and education is a priority for Monaco. I have expressly called on my government to increase ODA. Pandemics and NCDs, and development of hospital partnerships are priorities for our Development assistance. We support national programmes to support maternal and infant. We also invest in struggle against Malaria. We will sign up to SG’s Global Strategy.
 
Germany
Health and Education are human rights and vital for development and to achievement of all MDGs. We must continue to support developing country partners to support MDGs. Education is a priority in our development policy. We will step up efforts to achieve education around the world. Education helps improve health of women and girls, and reduces mortality rates. It helps to reduce violence and conflict. We are encouraged to take a holistic approach to improve quality of education and school retention rates. We are 2nd largest donor funder on education. We support the SG’s Global strategy. That is why as part of g8 we have pledged extra 400 million Euros to improve child and maternal health as part of Muskoka initiative.
 
Cuba – DPM
Cuba is making sustained progress to goals on health and education. 99.7 percent of children of primary school age are included in school network. More than 98% achieve 6th grade. In 2008, 86.9% are taught in groups of just 20. Unfair trade, hampered market access, trade issues, technological divide and unilateral blockades all get in the way to achieving MDGs – we must foster international alliance for development which should like at the basis of entire progress.
 
WHO – Margaret Chan
Education and health go hand in hand. The evidence demonstrating link is incontrovertible. Education of girls is vital. Educating girls will see that they have less babies and have them later in life. Educated girls make better mothers. Education lifts the status of women, protects their sexual health and protects them from sexual violence. Education is powerful way to break status of poverty – education breaks cycle of poverty. The linkage between health and education are mutually reinforcing sisterhood which go hand in hand and lift people out of poverty – gives opportunity to develop full human potential.

Save the Children – CEO
Health – 3 lessons. MDGs 4 and 5 are behind. Poorest and most vulnerable have poor access to health services. Health is too m=fragmented and lives of women and girls is put at risk
5 recommendations –
1. prioritise equity requires access to services and overcoming barriers
2. impacts re heath should be at community level
3. education needs to remove barriers so all children can fully participate
4. more investment in MDG synergies
5. look at impact of MDG 8 on all MDGs – financing gap is 34 billion for health
 
Gambia – M for National Planning
Education is vital ingredient for human development. The positive effect of education impacts on fertility, mortality and morbidity. Evidence points to development of nation can be retarded by lack of access to health and education. My government prioritises these sectors since 1994. As Africans, our greatest enemy is ignorance. To save Gambia we have invested significant portion of budget to health and education. This has impacted by increasing access to services for people. We aim to improve access to RH. Maternal mortality has reduced from 730 to 550 per 1000 by 2010. CPR and has increased from 6.7 in 1990 and 13.4 in 2001 to 97.8% in 2006 (???). We have made significant gains in HIV reductions though providing ARTs remains a daunting challenge.
 
Tanzania – Prime Minister
We are here to change and share experiences to try and implement the MDGs. On primary education we had 51.7% in 2000. Now it is 94.5% enrolment. Re Maternal Health – until 2005 there was no real progress. 529 per 100,000 in 1996. In 2009/10, MMR reached 454 per 100,000 live births- we have made progress but not enough. On HIV and AIDS, HIV prevalence is significantly high among women. We must keep up momentum etc if we are to achieve the MDGs.
 
Eritrea – MOFA
We are committed to achieve MDGs and have invested 100s of millions of dollars – especially on trying to make hunger history. Health MDGs. 75 % has access to healthcare. Immunization of DTP and Hepatitis is at 9%. 34.1% of all pregnant women have access to skilled birth attendants
 
Israel – Deputy MOFA
Our approach to development reflects our commitment to human capital and capacity building. We support training of teachers in Africa with UNESCO. We also see education as a means of building bridges with neighbours. We work to improve maternal health – we will sign a trilateral partnership with and Germany on development cooperation.
 
UNICEF
We helped organize 1st world summit of health and education which go hand in hand. 69 million have no access to education. We need to integrate education and health. We know that. But we know now that if we shift focus to the most disadvantaged then it has huge impact. Education is a powerful weapon against disease and should be used to its fullest to help children thrive.

Kenya – MoEd
Kenya has made significant progress in health and education and has achieved universal access to primary education. We have newly passed a constitution where there is complete access to education for all. We have made major progress since 2005 but need to achieve more to reach the MDGs. We have reduced child mortality, improved MH and reduced the spread of HIV. Currently MM remains high (488 per 100,000 live births) – 7,700 women die every year due to lack of adequate ANC – though 91% attend ANC. We now offer ARV drugs and increased voluntary testing services in public facilities etc. Nevertheless we have huge challenges to provide quality and affordable healthcare for all Kenyans. We are improving access to health by providing model health centres that have child and maternal health wards.
 
Russia – MOFA
It is hard not to agree that health is not only a prerequisite for a person’s quality of life, but for eradicating discrimination, etc. We have allocated $20 billion in last 5 years to health. We continue to take part in ODA to combat HIV, TB, Malaria and the communicable diseases. We get significant technical assistance to CIS countries. We will actively promote the values of a healthy life style – the goal of the first NCD conference in Moscow next year. We have contributed over last XX years $430 million. UNSG we support – and will hold a series of scientific educational conferences to disseminate best practice on reducing maternal mortality.
 
Saudi – His Majesty
Women, gender equality, sustainable development addressed in conferences etc

UNESCO
We support the SG Global Strategy that emphasises close link between health and education – education saves lives. Evidence shows that children of parents who have education are more likely to save lives. When parents have post primary education the situation is better, though achieving this is difficult. Educated women are likely to give birth using a skilled health worker, seek ANC and approach health services and know more about available services. Education is a powerful means to prevent spread of preventable diseases and promote healthy lives, behaviour etc that has progressive impact on lives of women. Adolescent girls are key target. They need access to basic health services
 
Ghana
Our results are mixed. Our 2008 DHS report has fallen from 111 in 2003 to 80- per 1000 live births in 2008. A further reduction of 50 % is required to reach target. The progress in reducing MM is further off track. We estimated there was 450 deaths per 1000 live births in 2007. MDG target is 185 – we are a long way off. HIV AIDS has stabilised largely though we need more resources. We need to achieve Abuja target of 15% so as to help achieve family planning accessible for all, all maternal health services are free, to scale up planning and services. We need to include number of midwives. We are way out of MNDG 5 but we believe with strong commitment we will be able to achieve it.
 
Bulgaria – Ministry of FA
If challenges related to access are not met, millions will be deprived of opportunity to have decent lifestyle. Significant amount of our ODA goes to education as we believe that investment in human capital can achieve long term progress on the MDGs. Re the Youth Conference. To improve adolescent SRH, the YP Bulgaria was established. Regional Peer education training connects more than 50-00 people from 42 countries. – so speedy progress is possible. We cannot achieve MDGs without progress on education and health.
 
UNFPA – Thoraya Obaid
5 points
1. Education and health are interlinked but when girls are educated they also contribute to productivity and economic growth
2. Health of women is not just focus of ministry of health. National plans need to prioritise integrated package of services.
3. Partners need to work together to support countries – ie H4+ we work to focus on those countries with high newborn and maternal deaths.
4. We talk re investments so need to see budget lines etc
5. We need more than health, the competing demands – it is a cultural issue around value of women and girls. If we value women then we need to work with value systems to improve and promote health of women and children.
 
Oman – MOFA
Oman calls on international community to address other health issues that directly affect the MDGs such as NCDs. We continue to offer free healthcare to our citizens and work closely with CS and UN agencies to achieve MDGs – and believe in communication, collaboration and …….
 
Arab League
In Libya children participate in schools at 100 per cent. We have closed health gap between rural and urban areas. Reducing maternal mortality we have achieved a lot and improved healthcare through building hospitals and providing free medication.
 
Norway
The most dangerous day for a woman is the day she gives birth and the day she is born. Would it be the same if men gave birth? We need more attention and focus on providing sex education, safe abortion services etc. Women must be put in a position where they have power to decide over their own body. When women are valued the society at large will protect their rights. Gender equality is good for health. Meeting the MDGs means also focussing on gender equality too
 
World Bank
The MDGs are the World Bank’s goals. We want a world free of poverty. We need to provide basic essential medicines, and create meaningful employment opportunities. I am pleased to highlight Zoëllick’s announcement earlier today that the Bank is pledging new investments to help poor countries close gap by 2015. We will focus on access agenda and address these goals and targets and focus on 35 countries in Africa and Asia.