20 January 2016: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the first members of the High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) who will help provide leadership for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health during the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Michelle Bachelet Jeria, President of Chile, and Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, will co-chair the Group. Tarja Halonen, former President of the Republic of Finland, and Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former President of Tanzania, are alternate Co-Chairs.

The members, which were announced on 20 January 2016, in Davos, Switzerland, will be expanded with additional key leaders for a total of 15 members. The initial appointments will last for one year, and the Group will meet twice yearly to report on progress, key challenges, and provide recommendations on issues such as financing, accountability and implementation of EWEC, as well as the recently launched Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.

The selected representatives from government, the business community, philanthropy, youth, civil society and the multilateral system will advise the Secretary-General on the transition of EWEC and the Global Strategy. They will also link to other advocacy or advisory groups to encourage collaboration and integration with relevant areas of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Members of the Group include: Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie of Canada; Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare of India; Børge Brende, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway; Awa Marie Coll Seck, Minister of Health of the Republic of Senegal; Graça Machel, Board Chair, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Founder Graça Machel Trust; Meg Taylor, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF); Robert Collymore, CEO Safaricom; Jovana Rios Cisnero, Panamanian Family Planning Association; Kevin Jenkins, CEO World Vision; Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Saber Chowdhury, President, Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU); and the Head of Agency Chair of the H6, a joint effort by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UNAIDS, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, to address reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.

Every Woman Every Child is a global movement to mobilize international and national action by governments, the UN, multilateral institutions, the private sector and civil society to address the major health challenges facing women, children and adolescents. The movement puts into action the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, a roadmap for ending all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents within a generation and ensuring their well-being. The Strategy was designed to be relevant to “everyone, everywhere,” from humanitarian and crisis settings to schools and community health centers, and it has US$25 billion in initial commitments from over 120 organizations and over 40 governments. It presents an accountability framework and mechanism that will align and help track progress of the related SDGs. [Every Woman Every Child Press Release] [Pacific Islands Forum Press Release]