Crises have a way of uniting NGOs in a single cause. Usually it’s a major disaster such as the 2004 tsunami that left millions homeless or a bloody civil war that kills and displaces hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

But our organizations are coming together this year for two reasons. Our Group of Seven is combining forces because of an ongoing global emergency that is needlessly killing millions of mothers and their children, deaths that could be prevented by pennies a day. And, second, we are creating this unprecedented coalition now because 2010 presents a tremendous leadership opportunity for Canada to preserve lives as it prepares to host the G8 and G20 summits.

Imagine this: If your daughter, mother or sister died in childbirth, you would be horrified. Yet more than 500,000 women die every year from pregnancy-related causes because they are poor. Today, we live on a planet where motherhood is, depending on where one lives, a leading cause of death.

At the same time, some 8.8 million children die annually before reaching the age of five. That’s 29,000 children every day; 21 every minute. More than one-third dies at childbirth alone.

The fact is, the solutions are both simple and inexpensive. We do not have to wait for medical breakthroughs to make an impact. For example, in the developing world it is sadly common for children to go blind and die from Vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A pills cost two cents each. Just two such pills per year can save a child’s life.

Similarly, malaria is a leading cause of child mortality. A bed net costing as little as $10 can protect against the mosquitoes that carry the illness. Diarrhea, easily treated, is another major child killer, taking the lives of 1.5 million children every year. And if pregnant women benefitted from healthier birth conditions and enjoyed decent nutrition, millions more children—and mothers— would be saved.

A decade ago, the nations of the world pledged to reduce global poverty and combat hunger and death from a lack of basic health care. Among their UN Millennium Development Goals are commitments to reduce maternal mortality rates by three-quarters and child mortality rates by two-thirds by 2015. But neither will be achieved by that target date, just five years away, unless donor countries like Canada reinvigorate the initiative.

Last year in Italy, the G8 agreed that maternal and child mortality are among the globe’s most pressing health problems. But they failed to come up with an action plan to address the situation. In a few months, the same countries will gather in Canada where we, as host nation, should press for more than words to save lives. It is a unique opportunity that must not pass us by.

In his Christmas message, Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted that the eyes of the world will be on Canada in 2010, first for the Winter Olympics and then for the G8 and G20 summits. “In a tough competitive world,” Harper said, “Canada can lead.”

Indeed, our organizations’ nearly two million supporters expect Canada to continue to lead the way to save mothers’ and children’s lives. In 2007, Harper gave $105 million over five years to an international healthcare initiative that is demonstrably effective in saving lives.

While the government’s support of the Catalytic Initiative to Save a Million Lives shows Canada taking an important leadership step, more needs to be done to reduce maternal mortality rates that have stayed virtually the same since 1990. Significant increases in our investment are needed if we are to halve the current child death rate to allow 4.4 million children born this year to live to see their fifth birthday.

The West now contributes $16 billion (US) annually toward achieving the UN Millennium Development Health Goals. However, another $25 billion (US) is needed if these life-saving targets are to be met, about half the $49 billion (US) spent worldwide on pet food.

Canada can afford to do more. We are a wealthy nation, less damaged by the global recession than most others. The prime minister should press his G8 and G20 guests to make firm dollar commitments to accompany their positive rhetoric. An expansion of the Catalytic Initiative model to cover a larger package of basic, high-impact interventions could save the lives of over 60 per cent of the 8.8 million children that die annually from preventable causes.

We want Canada to be remembered in 2010 not only as an Olympics host, but also as the place where world leaders took concrete steps to save lives.

Canadians are prepared to support efforts to tackle this health emergency. In a November Ipsos-Reid survey of more than 2,000 people, nine out of 10 (87 per cent) agreed that Canada should keep its promises to reduce childhood deaths “despite the economic downturn.”

The clock is ticking down to 2015. Canada has a chance to make a difference. Together we have an opportunity to save lives—millions of lives.

KATHERINE MCDONALD,
KEVIN MCCORT,
ROSEMARY A. MCCARNEY,
CHRISTINA DENDYS,
DAVID MORLEY,
NIGEL FISHER AND DAVID TOYCEN

Katherine McDonald is executive director of Action Canada for Population and Development.
Kevin McCort is president and chief executive officer of CARE Canada.
Rosemary A. McCarney is president and chief executive officer of Plan Canada.
Christina Dendys is executive director of RESULTS Canada.
David Morley is president and chief executive officer of Save the Children Canada.
Nigel Fisher is president and chief executive officer of UNICEF Canada.
David Toycen is president and chief executive officer of World Vision Canada.