Hon. Françoise Castex, MEP, EPF Executive Committee President (and Vice-President of the Working Group on Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and Development) recently asked a parliamentary question to the European Commission about the EU’s 1 billion EUR MDG initiative, which it presented at the UN MDG Summit in September 2010. She did this at the 20th Session of the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly, which was held from 2nd to 4th December 2010 in Kinshasa, DRC.
Mme. Castex wanted to know how the funds given by the EU as part of the initiative will be spent, and whether they will reflect the historic consensus on prioritising maternal and child health that was reached in the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health and the G8 Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Under-Five Child Health. She also asked how this promise will fit in with the Commission’s own plans in focussing on the most off-track MDGs.
The Commission’s reply states that “the EU’s policy commitments on MDGs 4 and 5 are fully in line with the Muskoka Initiative and the Global Consensus. This will be reflected in the operationalization of the MDG Initiative. ACP States are encouraged to submit quality proposals targeting the most off-track MDGs in their countries and it is expected a significant amount could benefit maternal and child health”.
You will find a full overview of the replies given by the Commission at the JPA here |
