Sometimes wishes can come true.

For months now, a coalition of 7 Canadian NGOs working with vulnerable mothers and children in low income countries, has been lobbying the government to take this on as a Canadian G8 Legacy Project.

As he prepared to depart for the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, the Prime Minister did just that…announcing that Canada would make the plight of the 500,000 million women who die in childbirth and the 9 million children who don’t make it to the age of 5 every year, a top priority for the G8.

The news reached us just as we were about to start a briefing for the journalists who cover Parliament Hill. We wanted the media to know what Make Poverty History and its G8 Civil Society Coalition partners think should be on both the G8 and G20 agendas- to eradicate global poverty, help susceptible countries deal with climate change and create fair rules for an economic recovery for all.

Naturally, the news about the maternal and child health initiative put quite a few broad smiles on our faces, especially true for one of our panelists, Rosemary McCarvey, President and CEO of Plan Canada. Her organization has worked tirelessly on this.

The initiative has gained Mr. Harper kudos. Case in point, this Globe and Mail editorial. In the same newspaper, Geoffrey York's "Why It's A Crisis" piece is a conclusive demonstration of why the need is so urgent.  

At the same time, many are expressing a strong note of caution until we know how the government intends to make good on this commitment. Not to get too crass, but “Show us the money.” is a frequently heard phrase. We can’t really measure the impact of the program until we know how much will be committed to it. And how much of that money will be “new” money, and not money moved from other aid projects to cover this one. What a shame it will be if say, education programs get downgraded to pay for the desperately needed measures for mothers and children. There should be no “Sophie’s Choice” involved in this process.

As MAKE POVERTY HISTORY’S National Coordinator, told CanWest reporter Mike de Souza, we have to keep in mind, all the elements that need to be brought together to make these changes endure. "If we are going to be successful in reducing child and maternal mortality, it requires aid, but in addition to aid it also requires action on climate change and in ensuring a fair and sustainable economic recovery,"

The G8 Civil Society Coalition laid out for the media, the key agenda points we are stressing. You can hear them here in these short audio clips:

Gerry Barr gives the overview. He is Chair of MAKE POVERTY HISTORY and the President and CEO of CCIC (Canadian Council for International Cooperation).

Rosemary McCarvey, President and CEO of PLAN Canada talks about what needs to be done to get poverty eradication back on track.

Clare Demers of the Pembina Institute speaks for Climate Action Network about the crucial need for measures to those worst hit by global warming…namely, the world’s poorest people.

Fraser Reilly-King of the Halifax Initiative explains why economic reform is so essential and how it can be done.

Dennis Howlett talks about the G8/G20 Civil Society Coalition in Canada.

An excerpt from the question period with more reaction to the Maternal and Child Health Initiative.