Expert says Harper’s kids and moms priority a good one

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Dr. Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI Alliance, is shown in Ottawa, Thursday, March 27, 2014. Berkley says Stephen Harper\'s Muskoka Initiative has made a huge difference in driving down the death rate of Third World kids, but more work needs to be done to keep the issue on the international radar and build on recent successes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Blanchfield

OTTAWA – An international health group is applauding Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to host international talks later this spring on child and maternal health.

Dr. Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI Alliance, says a three-day international conference in May is a crucial step towards eradicating preventable diseases that kill children in poor countries.

In a world of competing development priorities, Berkley says Canada’s leadership on the issue will keep it from disappearing as just another flavour of the month.

Harper made maternal and child health his signature initiative when he hosted the G8 in Ontario’s Muskoka region in 2010.

He committed $2.8 billion over five years to spearhead a global effort to reduce the mortality rate of pregnant women and new mothers, their babies, and children under age five.

GAVI Alliance is one of Canada’s main multilateral agency partners, and focuses on vaccinating children in poor countries against diseases such diarrhea and pneumonia.

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