High-Level Commission on Life-saving Commodities for Women and Children

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria. Source: WikipediaUNICEF and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, have launched a High-Level Commission on Life-saving Commodities for Women and Children, as part of the Every Woman, Every Child movement to support achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Co-Chairs will be President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and other members will include global stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake and UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin are its Vice-Chairs.

“Making sure that women and children have the medicines and other supplies they need is critical for our push to achieve the MDGs,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “The Commission will tackle an overlooked but vital aspect of health systems, and ensure that women and children are protected from preventable causes of death and disease.”

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway. Source: WikipediaThe Commission will pursue the following outcomes:

• Reducing financial barriers to access through social protection mechanisms, such as fee waivers, vouchers and social insurance, and global financial mechanisms, such as pooled procurement;
• Creating incentives for international and local manufacturers to produce and innovatively package overlooked supplies;
• Identifying fast-track regulatory activities to accelerate registration and reduce registration fees for a special list of products to encourage a focus on quality medicines.

 
For more information on the Commission, visit www.everywomaneverychild.org/resources/un-commission-on-life-saving-commodities.

Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health

The Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health, which was co-chaired by President Jakaya Kikwete of United Republic of Tanzania and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, comprising some 30 commissioners from government, civil society, academia, the UN and other multilateral agencies, was established in January 2011. It presented its advance report in May 2011 Keeping Promises, Measuring Results.

Click to read more ...

Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH)

The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) is the major coordinating mechanism for the implementation of the Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health (GSWCH).

Click to read more ...

Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health (GSWCH)

The Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health (GSWCH) was introduced as an initiative of the UN Secretary-General in 2010 at the time of the 10-year review at a High-level Meeting of the General Assembly.

Click to read more ...

MDGs Beyond 2015… the process to 2015

In common with the Programme of Action (PoA) of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the MDGs are ‘time-bound’, ie the time for their achievement was set as 2014 in the case of the ICPD PoA and as 2015 for the MDGs.

Click to read more ...

Ocho Rios Declaration, Caribbean Regional Consultation in Jamaica

The regional consultation for the Anglo, Dutch and French Caribbean was held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica 12-13 April 2012 to provide input to the draft questionnaires for the Global Survey to be delivered to governments and contribute to the contents of possible optional modules that could be developed for each region and to develop a detailed plan for the movement and strategies of civil society so these consultations be informed to all and continue our role of monitoring the compliance with the ICPD in 2014 and after.

Click to read more ...

IPU adopts resolution on the Health of Women and Children

At its 126th Assembly in Kampala, Uganda, 31 March to 5 April 2012, the Inter-Parliamentary Union adopted a resolution on ‘Access to Health as a Basic Right: The Role of Parliaments in Addressing Key Challenges to Securing the Health of Women and Children’.

Click to read more ...

From Accra to ICPD beyond 2014: Recommendations from African CSOs and young people [Provisional]

Recognizing that the full implementation of Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the key actions for its further implementation are integrally linked to national, regional and global  efforts to achieve the internationally  agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals, the African Youth Charter, the Maputo Plan of Action, the Fifth African Development Forum, the Abuja Call for Accelerated Action, and the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases;

Click to read more ...

Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing - Report of the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability

Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, the Report of the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability was presented to the Secretary-General in Addis Ababa at the end of January 2012.

The 22-member Panel, co-chaired by Tarja Halonen, President of Finland and Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa was established in August 2010 to formulate a new blueprint for sustainable development and low-carbon prosperity. The Report includes important recommendations on Gender equality and reproductive rights and family planning.

Click to read more ...

Former Presidents Halonen of Finland and Chissano of Mozambique to co-chair the High-Level Task Force for Promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Former Presidents Tarja Halonen, of Finland, and Joaquim Chissano, of Mozambique, will co-chair a new High-Level Task Force for promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) worldwide.

At the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994, 179 governments agreed on an ambitious Programme of Action (POA) to advance sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Despite the progress has been made in many areas, the world is still far short of meeting the ICPD goals.

Click to read more ...