UN promotes health campaign for women, children

[September 22, 2010]  UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A global campaign that aims to save the lives of 16 million mothers and children over five years is being launched by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with as much as $40 billion in commitments from governments and private aid groups.

Ban's office says the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health is being announced Wednesday at the end of a three-day world anti-poverty summit.

The world leaders are reviewing efforts to implement Millennium Development Goals adopted at a summit in 2000. These include cutting extreme poverty by half, ensuring universal primary education, halting and reversing the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and cutting child and maternal mortality -- all by 2015.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.