2 June 2014
Toronto Summit Calls for Nutrition and Accountability for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
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The Global Summit on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) concluded with a call to end preventable maternal and child deaths within a generation, highlighting the importance of nutrition initiatives and a robust accountability framework.

The summit took place in Toronto, Canada, from 28-30 May 2014, on the theme ‘Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm's Reach,' building on the UN-led Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) initiative.

pmnch30 May 2014: The Global Summit on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) concluded with a call to end preventable maternal and child deaths within a generation, highlighting the importance of nutrition initiatives and a robust accountability framework. The summit took place in Toronto, Canada, from 28-30 May 2014, on the theme ‘Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach,’ building on the UN-led Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) initiative.

At the Summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted that water, sanitation, nutrition, education, climate change, energy, gender equality and women’s empowerment will play a critical role in improving health beyond 2015. On the sidelines, Ban met with Summit co-chairs Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, and Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania. Other leaders at the summit included Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, the Aga Khan, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, World Health Organization (WHO) Director Margaret Chan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Director-General Anthony Lake, and Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The summit issued a ‘Toronto Statement,’ which notes that nearly half of all child deaths are due to under-nutrition. The statement calls for: increased support for nutrition through partners including the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, the Micronutrient Initiative, the World Food Programme (WFP), WHO and UNICEF; timely, accurate and accessible health information to support greater accountability of national health systems; and greater efforts towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on child mortality and maternal health.

The Toronto Statement urges leaders in governments, businesses and civil society to ensure that ending preventable maternal, newborn and under-five child mortality by 2030 is a central priority within the post-2015 development agenda. It calls on partners to support WHO in implementing the recommendations of the UN Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.

The Toronto Statement also calls for increased efforts in deepening investment to: address maternal and neo-natal morbidity, and causes of under-nutrition in women, adolescent girls and children under five; prevent and treat childhood infectious diseases; and strengthen local health systems.

Canada announced further funding of US$3.5 billion over five years, focusing on newborn survival, civil registration, and statistics systems, and building on the achievements of its Muskoka Initiative, launched at the Group of 8 (G-8) summit in 2010. Germany announced that it will host a replenishment meeting of the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization).

The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) will launch an Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) during its 2014 Partners’ Forum, taking place on 30 June-1 July, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [UN Press Release] [Prime Minister of Canada’s Webpage for Summit] [Toronto Statement] [PMNCH Webpage on Toronto Summit] [PMNCH Partners’ Forum Webpage]

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