Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday to help spearhead the next step in a proposed multibillion-dollar United Nations initiative on maternal and child health.
Harper focused on that issue at last year's G8 meeting in Muskoka, Ont. He's now co-chairing a commission charged with overseeing how $40 billion in funding earmarked for the initiative is collected and spent.
The prime minister, along with co-chair Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, hopes to ensure that governments who pledged money towards the initiative make good on their promises.
At the meeting in Geneva, Harper encouraged those who attended to financially support the initiative, which is "about the future, the future of families, of communities, countries and indeed ultimately of humanity," he said.
"Improvements to the health, education and living conditions of millions of women and children will mean a wave of hope that will ripple through the developing world," Harper said.
CTV's Richard Madan, who is travelleing with the prime minister, said that he "stressed the need for accountability" at the meeting, noting that Harper will need to convince donor countries not to be scared to contribute money "because it could possibly go to corrupt governments" or "get sucked into a giant UN bureaucracy."
The prime minister's remarks were greeted by warm applause from the United Nations members in attendance, Madan said.
Harper was also slated to host a session Wednesday to follow up with donor nations and reach out to stakeholders.
Meanwhile Kikwete led sessions on how the commission will measure progress and remain accountable.
Kikwete was more sombre in his address. He pointed out that while Africa represents only 12 per cent of the global population, it accounts for roughly half of all maternal deaths and deaths of children under five -- a "stark reminder of the enormity of the challenge."
While the details are still somewhat vague, the commission is likely to focus on initiatives that combat malaria, ensure childhood nutrition and provide access to family planning, Madan said.
The UN has set a "fairly aggressive" target of saving about 16 million lives by 2015 through the initiative, Madan said, "but even the president of Tanzania said that is an aggressive target and he's scared these targets won't be met."
In Ottawa, the president and CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, which represents about 100 Canadian non-governmental organizations, welcomed Harper's attention to the cause and his concerns about accountability.
"The better part of a million women die annually as a result of preventable complications following pregnancy and eight million children a year for reasons that are entirely avoidable," Gerry Barr told CTV's Power Play.
"It's an issue that cries out to heaven."
However, Barr wondered whether the prime minister would give equal weight to all maternal health measures being considered by the international initiative, including abortion.
"It would be fair probably to ask Mr. Harper, ‘Will you seek accountability on the thing you don't like as much as much as on the thing you do like?" Barr said. "Because of course, access to safe legally available abortion is definitely part of the program that they are looking for accountability on here."
Many see Harper's role on the commission as an attempt to restore respect on the world stage after his bid for a Security Council seat was rejected last year, Madan said.
Others see the initiative as one with the potential to have real results on the ground, particularly in Africa.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office also announced Wednesday that Ottawa will support three country-specific projects "to improve the health of mothers and children."
The goals of those projects range from treating HIV-positive children and pregnant women in Mozambique, to helping immunize children against polio in Bangladesh, to boosting nutrition for pregnant and nursing women in Ethiopia.
Harper is on a lightning tour. After Geneva -- where he also met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon -- he flew to Morocco to discuss an agreement to trade Canadian wheat for Moroccan produce.
It may be politically awkward for Harper in Morocco because of the uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Harper would not say if he supports protesting as a path to democracy. Morocco is ruled by a king and there have been some reports of demonstrations there.
