UN commits $25bn as seed fund to end preventable deaths of women, children, adolescents

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Saturday announced over $25 billion in initial commitments for the next five years to end preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents by 2030.

Other pledges include contributions from the United States ($3.3bn), Canada ($2.6bn), Sweden ($2.5bn), Germany ($1.3bn), Norway ($420m), Netherlands ($326m) and Korea ($300m), among other donor countries.

The amount pledged so far also includes an estimated $6 billion of in-kind contributions as well as commitments to the Global Financing Facility in support of Every Woman Every Child, launched during the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa in July this year.

The commitments announced are expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and include new policies and groundbreaking partnerships from 40 countries and over 100 international organisations, philanthropic foundations, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector.

Ki-Moon, who announced the initial major deposit the UN, was joined by Heads of State and Government, international organisations, the private sector, foundations, civil society, research and academic institutions, and other key partners during the UN Summit for the adoption of the sustainable development agenda to pledge their support to the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.

The Global Strategy and commitments to it build on 15 years of progress under the MDGs and the Every Woman Every Child movement, an unprecedented partnership launched in 2010 to mobilise and intensify international and national action by governments, multilaterals, the private sector and civil society to address the major health challenges facing women and children.

“The Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, which I am proud to launch today, will help to build resilient and healthy societies. We have shown that our partnership can yield concrete results. I, and the entire UN system, remain dedicated to saving and improving the lives of the most vulnerable amongst us,” he said.

The commitments showcase an increasing number of development partners from emerging economies working together in innovative ways to deliver the SDGs.

Importantly, contributions show significant engagement from new partners outside of the health sector. These comprise commitments from the Faith Leaders Health Alliance, which brings together religious leaders from various faiths and several youth initiatives such as PACT, ACT!2015, Y-PEER, and Restless Development.

The engagement reflects the crucial role young people will have in implementing the vision of the Global Strategy and the sustainable development agenda. Other important financial and in-kind contributions from civil society organisations include World Vision ($3bn), Path ($1bn), Children’s Investment Fund Foundation ($900m) and International Planned Parenthood Federation ($840m).

Safaricom, MSD, Philips, GlaxoSmithKline, Huawei, and Kenya Healthcare Federation have signed on to a new public-private partnership to harness the strength, resources and expertise of the private sector to improve the health of over 3.5 million women, newborns, children and adolescents in Kenya. The initiative is aligned with the Global Financing Facility, in close collaboration with the Government of Kenya, the World Bank, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and other partners.

ViiV Healthcare, Becton Dickinson, CHI Pharmaceuticals, UBS Optimist, HealthPhone and ZMQ Technology for Development are also among major private sector supporters of Every Woman Every Child, whose new contributions sum up to $217 million. These and other donors have pledged billions in assistance, but “more resources will be needed to tackle persistent inequalities and emerging needs,” the scribe emphasised.