CANADA G8 CHAMPION OF CHILD AND MATERNAL HEALTH
TORONTO, CANADA – Canada has received top scores in addressing issues of Child Mortality, the focal issue at the upcoming 2010 Muskoka Summit, by The G8 Research Group.
The G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto, the world’s leading source of analysis on the G8, is releasing its final compliance report today, which looks into each country’s efforts in meeting their commitments made at the 2009 L’Aquila G8 Summit. Canada has earned the highest possible score in the areas of Child Mortality and Health Systems. On the issue of Child Mortality, Russia and the EU scored the lowest.
Since the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in September 2000, global health has gained greater prominence on the G8 agenda. At the 2009 Summit in Italy, G8 leaders pledged to accelerate progress on combating child mortality by intensifying support for both child as well as maternal health.
Although last year’s G8 Health Experts’ Report reiterated each member’s pledge to reduce child mortality, in practice, little progress has been made. France and Germany, while directing funds to the improvement of maternal health care systems, have taken no appreciable action on enhancing infant health. Meanwhile, no specific funding or programming commitments have been made on the part of Russia or the EU.
Yet, Canada’s compliance scores remain positive, the G8 Research Group reports. “As the current chair of the G8, Canada has shown remarkable progress in this area,” notes Sabina Voicu, lead analyst on Health Systems with the G8 Research Group. In November 2009, the Canadian government pledged CAD2.4 million towards improving maternal care in Ghana, Tanzania, and Ethiopia and another CAD150 million for infant health in the developing world.
“Not only has Canada increased its contributions, but it has also made child and maternal health its top priority at the Muskoka Summit,” states Ms. Voicu. In January 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced child mortality to be a focal issue on this year’s summit agenda.
The G8 Research Group will be on site at the summit, available for comment both by email and in person. The full report can be found at g8.utoronto.ca
For more information contact:
Erin Fitzgerald, Chair
Email: erin.kelly.fitzgerald@gmail.com
or
Amadeus Domaradzki, Director of Communications
E-mail: media@g8live.org