Secretary-General Announces First Members of High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the first members of the High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child, who will help provide leadership and inspire actions for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health in the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the universal Sustainable Development Goals agenda.
The High-level Advisory Group will advise the Secretary-General and guide the transition of the Every Woman Every Child movement and the newly launched Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health. It will also link to other advocacy or advisory groups to encourage collaboration and integration with relevant areas of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Global Strategy provides a new road map, under the Every Woman Every Child movement, to end all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents by 2030, to ensure their well-being, and to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The initial members announced today will be expanded by adding key leaders to make up to 15 members, with two co-chairs and two alternate co-chairs. Initial appointments will last one year. The Advisory Group will meet twice annually to report on progress and key challenges, and provide recommendations on such issues as financing, accountability and implementation of Every Woman Every Child and the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.
The High-level Advisory Group includes:
Co-Chairs
- President Michelle Bachelet, Chile
- Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, Ethiopia
Alternate Co-Chairs
- Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former President, United Republic of Tanzania
- Tarja Halonen, former President, Finland
Members
- Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister for International Development and La Francophonie of Canada
- Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare of India
- Børge Brende, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway
- Awa Marie Coll Seck, Minister for Health of Senegal
- Graça Machel, Board Chair, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, and Founder, Graça Machel Trust
- Meg Taylor, DBE, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum
- Robert Collymore, CEO, Safaricom
- Jovana Rios Cisnero, Board Vice President of APLAFA (Panamanian Family Planning Association), Member of the Board of Directors, IPPF Western Hemisphere
- Kevin Jenkins, CEO, World Vision
- Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- Saber Chowdhury, MP, President, Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Head of Agency, Chair of the H6 (formerly known as H4+). The H6 is a joint effort by UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UN Women, WHO and the World Bank to address reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. It serves as the lead technical partners for the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent Health.