In addition to financial commitments, the Global Strategy promotes country-led health plans with sustainable investment, integrated delivery of health services, health systems strengthening, innovative approaches to financing and improved monitoring and evaluation of programs to ensure that maximum benefit will be derived from commitments made to women and children.

On paper, it sounds pretty incredible, and at ONE, we celebrate the renewed focus on maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) — an issue which we feel is long overdue. We’re also thrilled to see the diversity of partners (PDF) who have come together and have committed to achieving real outcomes in health — not just financial inputs.

It wasn’t just the usual crop of donor countries who made commitments (though many pledged substantially). Benin agreed to provide antiretroviral treatment to 90 percent of their HIV-positive pregnant women. Ethiopia pledged to increase the proportion of its children immunized against measles to 90 percent. Niger provided free care for maternal and child health. And NGOs and philanthropies of all sizes, UN agencies, members of academia and the private sector rounded out a true 21st century global partnership.

But now that the confetti has settled in New York City, what will the Global Strategy really amount to? To be frank, it’s hard to tell. Though each entity’s commitments were outlined, it was not clear how the $40 billion figure was calculated and how much of it was actually new money. We know that some of the $40 billion has been generated in the period “since April,” meaning chunks could have come through commitments made at prior forums, including this summer’s G8 Summit in Canada. And speaking of which, we’re having flashbacks to our analysis of the Summit’s Muskoka Initiative for MNCH, where money was pledged and the rhetoric was great, but ultimately, there was no great accountability mechanism established by which the advocacy community could measure commitments, progress or gaps.

While that’s frustrating for us, it’s a matter of life and death for the mothers and children depending on these initiatives for support. So at ONE, we will stay engaged and work to ensure that a monitoring body is established to ensure that these and other commitments made this week are kept.

The Economist looks at this weekend’s G20 meeting, saying that while the rules of the global financial system cannot be rewritten in a five-hour powwow, some useful things can come out of the meeting, such as commitments on trade and on reforming the IMF.

Ban Ki-moon has appealed to leaders meeting at a financial summit in Washington this weekend not to let the global crisis become a “human tragedy” for people in poor countries. In a letter to leaders of the G20 Ban said, “The poorest and most vulnerable everywhere, but particularly in the developing countries, will be the most affected” by the world growth slowdown now being predicted. We need most of all to join forces to take immediate action to prevent the financial crisis from becoming a human tragedy.”

In Great Britain, Gordon Brown has called for a new international financial architecture, citing the Bretton Woods conference in 1944 as an example. The Bretton Woods agreement, which resulted in the creation of the IMF and World Bank, is particularly relevant today as we address the “need for global policy co-ordination in tackling” this financial crisis.

The New York Times editorial board today examines some of the challenges that confront the G20 during America’s presidential transition. The Times champions the need for all the participating 20 of the world’s leading economies to reach fundamental agreements as a platform to “begin a serious discussion about the roots of the financial crisis and set the stage for future meetings to discuss substantive reforms.”

-Steve Wilson and Chris Scott

The launch comes less than a month before the annual G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. This year’s summit marks the midpoint to 2010, the target date for the delivery of the G8′s historic promise to double aid to Africa. This Wednesday, ONE is launching its own annual report on the G8′s progress towards meeting its commitments to Africa. The “DATA Report” looks at the collective G8 promise to double aid by 2010 and also examines progress the G8 has made towards fulfilling other commitments, such as providing universal access to HIV treatment, supporting universal primary education and making trade work for Africa. The DATA Report also includes in-depth analyses of how each G8 country is doing in delivering their individual promises to Africa. Stay tuned here for coverage of Wednesday’s launch in Paris and an analysis of the findings and what they mean to the fight against global poverty.

-Nora Coghlan

And! We have news that the head of the U.N. will announce a plan today that would eventually wipe out malaria.

From the AP:

“In a video message for a World Malaria Day event at U.N. headquarters, Ban said the initiative will offer indoor spraying and bed nets treated with long-lasting insecticide “to all people at risk, especially women and children in Africa.” The video was obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

It will also ensure that public health facilities have access to effective malaria treatment and diagnosis, that health workers are trained to deal with the disease, and that research into its eradication is encouraged, Ban said.

Ban said he wants these measures in place in just a few years. “The aim is to put a stop to malaria deaths by ensuring universal coverage by the end of 2010.”

The secretary-general said that several African countries “have made dramatic strides in malaria control, but the most affected nations remain off track to reach the goal of halting and reversing the incidence of the disease.”

“That is why today, together with the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, I am putting forward a bold but achievable vision,” Ban said.”

Many more malaria-related posts to come today.

-Virginia Simmons

From a Tuesday Reuters article:

“Investing approximately $10 billion per year can halve the proportion of people without basic sanitation by 2015,” [the U.N. statement] said.

The U.N.’s drive for better sanitation will involve regional conferences and public campaigns to raise awareness and implement projects to improve sanitation in developing countries through public and private partnerships.

UK-based charity WaterAid said the absence of clean toilet facilities, access to safe water and efficient sanitation was directly related to the spread of diseases that killed 1.8 million children a year.

It estimated the economic cost of not investing in sanitation and clean water at $38 million a year resulting from infant deaths, lost work days and school absences due to disease.”

Read the full article here.

-Virginia Simmons