World Vision’s policy ask to the G8 & G20 for 2010

Last year the G8 agreed to the Consensus for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.(1) It is now time to operationalize this consensus. The Millennium Development Goals for maternal and child health are far off-track and they will not be achieved under the business-as-usual approach. Despite gradual improvements in child health globally, maternal deaths have not budged and child mortality is still far too high at around 9 million children under five years of age dying each year. Cost-effective interventions that have been proven in a number of developing countries are available which will reduce child deaths by 65% and maternal deaths by 80%. What is needed now is effective coordinated action by all major players.

ACT NOW: Ask the G8 to take steps to end preventable child deaths

Such action will require the following four steps:

1. Increasing the level of funding for health to meet the MDG and G8 health commitments
There must be an increase in health funding from donors – from around $US20 billion per year in 2008 to $37.5 billion by 2012 and $42.5 billion by 2015. World Health Organization modeling indicates that this level of support is required to meet the Millennium Development Goals for health and the existing G8 commitments which cover child health, maternal health, HIV & AIDS and other major infectious diseases.(2) This level of funding can be realized through the achievement of current aid volume commitments and through greater priority for health in the aid budgets of a number of donor countries. The total aid required for health in 2012 is likely to make up no more than 23% of total aid in 2012.(3)