TORONTO and MONTREAL, Sept. 17, 2016 /CNW/ - As the two-day Global Fund Fifth Replenishment Conference came to a close in Montreal, David Morley, UNICEF Canada President and CEO, had the following to say:
"Today, the world has moved one step closer to ending three of the most deadly epidemics in the world and saving millions of lives.
With the closing of the Global Fund's Fifth Replenishment Conference in Montreal, UNICEF Canada is greatly encouraged by the level of mobilization, engagement and commitment that was generated towards the Sustainable Development Goal targets of ending HIV, TB and malaria by 2030.
Canada's generous contribution of $804 million to the Global Fund, combined with the more than $12.9 billion that was generated by world leaders and philanthropic and private sector partners, with the support of the global health community overall at the two-day event, will enable significant scaling up of investments in proven interventions into ending these three fatal diseases within our generation.
While significant progress has been made over the last fifteen years – thanks in no small part to the establishment of the Global Fund partnership and Canada's leadership in global health and child survival efforts – we still have much work to do to reach the world's most vulnerable.
Every day, 16,000 children under the age of five die from mostly preventable causes. Alongside Canada and the Global Fund, we look forward to continuing our work on strengthening health systems and to seeing innovative partnerships that leverage Canadian expertise to bring that number down.
We commend the Government of Canada on hosting this important conference and on setting a high standard of commitment to the Global Fund. We encourage Canada to continue leading 'last mile' support for global health and child survival and championing such a critical cause, and we look forward to working alongside Canada and the Global Fund to achieve the ambitious but attainable targets of ending HIV, TB and malaria by 2030."
About UNICEF
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families, doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food security, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we are active in over 190 countries - more than any other organization. Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too far to go to help a child survive. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicef.ca.
SOURCE UNICEF Canada
Image with caption: "UNICEF Canada (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160917_C1768_PHOTO_EN_775684.jpg
For further information: To arrange interviews or for more information please contact: Stefanie Carmichael, UNICEF Canada, 416-482-6552 ext. 8866, 647-500-4320 (mobile), [email protected]; Karine Morin, UNICEF Canada, 514 288-5134, ext. 8425, 514-232-4510 (mobile), [email protected]
UNICEF is the world’s leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivaled reach...
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