UN chief calls for commitment to improve health of women, children

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for stepped-up commitments to improve the health of women, children and adolescents worldwide with an updated global strategy in this regard.

Ahead of the UN's adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Post-2015 Development Agenda in September, Ban said "by investing in the potential of women, children and adolescents today, and over the next 15 years, we can save a generation within a generation -- and benefit generations to come."

"We all believe in a world where every woman, child and young person can not only survive, but thrive," said Ban at a high-level luncheon.

The SDGs will include a series of development goals in all fields of the international affairs and the human life as a guidance for next-15-year's development, updating main tasks included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for the past 15 years.

Among those development goals, the work of promoting health of the most vulnerable women and children in the world remained unfinished, Ban said.

According to UN statistics, some 800 women die each day from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Women and children are up to 14 times more likely to die in a disaster.

In 2010, Ban launched the Every Woman and Every Child movement which puts into action of a global strategy on women's and children's health. And he plans to establish a high-level advisory group for the movement to update the global strategy this year.

This advisory group will help to provide the highest political leadership on this important transition and inspire ambitious action that translates into steady progress on the ground, Ban said.

"These new commitments need to demonstrate how the global health community, countries and multi-stakeholder partners can align, be fit for purpose, and forge new partnerships to deliver results," he said.

Thursday's luncheon, together with a two-day retreat, is to gather government representatives, leaders of civil society and global advocates to mobilize their action to support the health of women, children and adolescents for 2015 and beyond.