Excellencies Heads of State and government,
Let me start by thanking His Excellency Prime Minister Harper and his government for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to us since our arrival in this country.
Excellencies,
The MDG Africa reports for 2009 and 2010 produced jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and the African Union Commission have shown overall relatively slow progress on the fourth millennium development goal, to reduce by two thirds, the under five mortality rate and also the fifth MDG, to reduce maternal deaths by three quarters and achieve universal access to reproductive health.
African Union member states recognise the urgent need for accelerated action and increased support for building stronger national health systems in order to further scale-up and leverage the gains being made in expanding service delivery to achieve their universal access targets, while at the same time, speeding up progress on maternal and child health.
The heavy burden placed by HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria on the health of women and children underscores the inextricable linkages between efforts to reduce child mortality and to improve maternal health and the fight against the pandemics.
If these health related millennium development goals are to be attained by the target date of 2015, it calls for an integrated and comprehensive approach to accelerating efforts on maternal, newborn and child health in Africa.
This should be done in particular through the revitalisation of primary healthcare, repositioning of family planning including reproductive health, commodity security and infrastructure development in rural areas, skilled human resources and nutrition programmes.
In addition to their previous continental frameworks and strategies, African countries have committed to achieving the objectives of the African Union Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa launched in 2009.
This is based on the conviction that current levels of maternal and child mortality are largely preventable and therefore unacceptable.
At the upcoming African Union Summit to be held in Kampala, Uganda in July, African Heads of State and government are expected to adopt actions for accelerated achievement of maternal, newborn and child health development in Africa by 2015.
African Union member states also acknowledge the significant progress enabled by the substantial resources channelled, particularly through effective international instruments such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
They recognise the significant additional resources needed to reach our universal access targets as well as to address the substantial funding gap for the fourth and fifth MDGs.
Africa welcomes the inclusion of maternal, newborn and child health on the agenda of the G8 Summit taking place in Canada.
In this regard, it commends Canada, the G8 Presidency, for the priority that it has accorded maternal, infant and child health in order to accelerate progress on the attainment of the health MDGs by the target date of 2015.
At the same time, Africa welcomes the Muskoka Accountability Report: "Assessing Action and Results Against Development Related Commitments”.
It is cognisant of the many commitments made in the past by development partners, including the G8, and thus calls for the fulfilment of these commitments in line with the Paris declaration on aid effectiveness and the Accra agenda for Action.
On her part, Africa commits to enhancing domestic resources mobilisation to meet the Abuja target of 15 percent of budget allocation for the health sector and earmark an amount for maternal, newborn and child health.
We must also mobilise resources through public private partnerships and other innovative health financing and ensuring efficient and effective use of health resources.
It also commits to improving and strengthening accountability mechanisms through effective monitoring and evaluation and information systems at country and continental levels.
I thank you.
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/)
