The Millennium Development Goals on improving maternal health and reducing child mortality will not be met next year, despite progress in all regions of the developing world.
At least one country, however, will not be blamed for not trying hard enough.
Building on a legacy of development programming in maternal and child health spanning decades, Canada has become a champion of the cause under the current government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. At the 2010 G-8 summit, Harper increased Canada’s five-year contribution to the Muskoka Initiative to 2.85 billion Canadian dollars ($2.5 billion). The initiative commits G-8 member nations to spend an additional $5 billion on maternal, newborn and child health between 2010 and 2015. In the same year, Harper was named to co-chair the U.N. Commission for Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health alongside Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.