Chair,
Despite large reduction in global mortality for women and children in the past years, there is an urgent need to scale-up efforts to reach MDG 4, 5 and 6. We must all contribute to this extra effort.
A clear commitment to leadership, true collaboration, continued monitoring and tracking of results and accountability at all levels will be crucial for success between now and 2015. We must also be willing to invest more.
We believe there exists clear opportunities for additional scale-up of high impact interventions. These must be tailored to reach the most vulnerable.
Norway has been answering to the United Nations Secretary-General’s call to act together since the launch Every Woman Every Child initiative.
As a part of this we have contributed to the newly established RMNCH fund, hosted by UNFPA with the participation of H4+. We will continue to invest in this fund with the aim to underpin partner countries priorities in health service delivery to women and children. The RMNCH Fund will provide catalytic resources to fill critical country-identified gaps in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health.
Norway considers Results Based Financing in Health as a promising approach to moving health service delivery forward. We are committed to the multi-donor Health Results Innovation Trust Fund hosted by the World Bank. Pilot-projects in several partner countries (27 countries) show very promising results in health service delivery to women and children. Our goal is to scale up pilots to encompass country level delivery. Funding from the WB RBF Trust Fund is coupled to IDA Credits in a ration 1 to 4, which has the potential to multiply effects on the ground for citizens.
Our aim is to use innovative approaches that involve non-state partners to scale up efforts, underpinning WHOs very important normative role in our common efforts to reach the health MDGs in time. This must be given the highest priority and any unfinished business must be carried forward in the Post-2015 goals and targets.
Thank you.