My Priority for the G8/G20 Summit
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If applicable, select from one of the following:
I am a Registered Nurse
I am a Nursing Student
I am a health-care provider
I am a member of the public
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Your Message:
Dear Prime Minister, As a registered nurse I strongly urge you to show leadership for global health as you host the world’s leaders this weekend. You have a remarkable opportunity at the G8 and G20 Summits to make a difference in reducing global poverty, strengthening human rights, protecting the environment and championing social justice, all of which contribute to creating a healthier world. I am embarrassed that Canada has dropped two places behind the United Kingdom and Japan in its actual allocation of new resources to achieve the commitments you made at the last G8 meeting in 2009. Promises are cheap; we need new investment, not reallocations from existing essential programs, if we are to truly improve maternal, newborn and child health, and aggressively address the social determinants of health. Achieving real progress at the G8/G20 Summits means leadership and having the courage and vision to make the right choices. If Canada has more than one billion dollars for summit security, then the global resources certainly exist to eliminate poverty, reduce maternal and infant mortality here in Canada and worldwide, tackle climate change and immediately keep the promise to ensure universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all you need it. I am pleased that Canada aims to use the G8/G20 meetings as an opportunity to move forward on maternal and child health. Action on stalled implementation of the Millennium Development Goals to reduce infant mortality and improve maternal health is crucial. Ultimately, the success of the “Canadian Summit” will be measured by the ability of the world’s leaders, under your leadership, to commit to a sustained, comprehensive, rights-based global strategy for maternal, newborn and child health, including equitably accessible reproductive health services. In so doing, Canada must also address the dire conditions that are evident in its own backyard; for example the unacceptably high infant death rate in Canadian Aboriginal communities that is 1.5 times above the national rate. Mr. Prime Minister, as you welcome the world’s leaders to Canada, the stakes could not be higher. Thank you.
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