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ITU Secretary-General to serve as co-Vice Chair of
World Health Organisation Commission on
women’s and children’s health
Geneva, Switzerland, 17 December 2010 ITU will participate in a new high-level UN Commission charged with tracking tangible improvements in women’s and children’ 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 Dr Hamadoun Touré will serve as co-Vice Chair of the Commission, alongside WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. Dr Touré will contribute his expertise in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as tools to advance and improve healthcare.
“ICTs are among the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to dramatically improve health outcomes for infants and their mothers,” said Dr Touré. “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.”
The World Health Organization will lead the Commission, which will be co-Chaired by President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada.
The Commission will hold its first meeting in January, and will recommend the best and fastest way to improve accountability by May 2011. One goal of the Commission will be to create an accountability mechanism that helps countries monitor where resources go and which will 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 in the fields of academia, civil society and the private sector. A list of the commissioners can be found at:
www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/accountability_commission/Commissioners_List_161210.pdf
For more information see the new Commission website at:
http://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/accountability_commission/
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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+41 22 730 6135 |
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+41 79 599 1439 |
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sarah.parkes@itu.int |
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