Grand Challenges Canada Applauds Announcement by Prime Minister Harper at 'Saving Every Woman Every Child' Summit

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 29, 2014) - Grand Challenges Canada welcomes today's announcement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at 'Saving Every Woman Every Child: Within Arm's Reach,' the high-level summit on maternal, newborn and child health.

Prime Minister Harper announced that Canada has committed $3.5 billion for 2015 - 2020 towards Canada's top development priority: saving the lives of millions of mothers and children.

Each year 293,000 women lose their lives in pregnancy and childbirth, 6.3 million children die before their fifth birthday, and more than 200 million children fail to reach their full potential. Most of these lost lives and brains can be saved.

The Prime Minister has shown that Canadian leadership and a focus on results can save and improve the lives of women and children in developing countries.

The Summit's emphasis on innovation and accountability shows a commitment to doing things better, and achieving results to save more lives of women and children, and to ensure children reach their full potential.

"Canadians have every reason to feel proud. Through simple innovations, millions of women and children who would have otherwise died will survive, thrive and reach their full potential, thanks to Canada and Prime Minister Harper's leadership and commitment," said Dr. Peter A. Singer, Chief Executive Officer at Grand Challenges Canada.

For more information, visit grandchallenges.ca and look for us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

For more information about 'Saving Every Woman Every Child: Within Arm's Reach,' visit mnch.international.gc.ca.

About Grand Challenges Canada
Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact® in global health. We are funded by the Government of Canada; we support innovators in low- and middle-income countries and Canada. The bold ideas we support integrate science and technology, social and business innovation to find sustainable solutions to health challenges -- we call this Integrated Innovation®. Grand Challenges Canada focuses on innovator-defined challenges through its Stars in Global Health program, and on targeted challenges in its Saving Lives at Birth, Saving Brains and Global Mental Health programs. Grand Challenges Canada works closely with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) to catalyze scale, sustainability and impact. We have a determined focus on results, and on saving and improving lives.
www.grandchallenges.ca