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| Photo credit: ITU/V. Martin |
| WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan and
ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré |
ITU will participate in a new high-level United
Nations Commission charged with tracking tangible
improvements in women’s and children’s health. The
Commission on Information and Accountability for
Women’s and Children’s Health will also examine
whether donations are made on time and resources
are spent wisely and transparently.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré and
WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan will serve
as co-Vice Chairs of the Commission. Dr Touré will
contribute his expertise in the field of information
and communication technologies (ICT) as tools to
advance and improve health care for infants and
their mothers. “As co-Vice Chair of this important
Commission, I look forward to sharing our knowledge
and actively collaborating with partner agencies and
ITU’s unique mix of government and private-sector
members. Together, we can harness the power of
technology to make a real and lasting difference to
child and maternal health worldwide,” said Dr Touré.
The World Health Organization will lead the
Commission, which will be co-chaired by Tanzania’s
President Jakaya Kikwete, and Canada’s Prime
Minister Stephen Harper. The Commission will
hold its first meeting in January 2011. One goal of
the Commission will be to create an accountability
mechanism, which will help countries monitor where
resources go and provide the evidence needed to
show which programmes are most effective in saving
women and children who are dying from preventable
diseases.
Commissioners comprise experts from developed
and developing countries, drawn from academia,
civil society and the private sector.
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