Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – World Vision Ethiopia (WVE), in collaboration with USAID and Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia, conducted an Interfaith Roundtable for Action on Maternal/Child Health and Nutrition today in Addis Ababa. The purpose of the event was to set common objectives and action steps as to how to fully integrate the engagement of faith leaders into maternal, newborn and child health work across the country.
The event is a follow up discussion of the recently held book launch by WVE, in collaboration with USAID, where religious leaders in Ethiopia pledged to collaborate on the efforts to improve maternal and child health and to meet MDG 5, which targets to reduce maternal mortality. In her keynote speech, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Patricia M. Haslach said, “Ending preventable child and maternal death by 2035 is one of the U.S. Government’s top priorities….Today is an occasion to take the next step toward strategic engagement of faith leaders and their respective communities in this important effort to have a sustainable impact on maternal and child health and nutrition in this country.”
Margaret Schuler, WVE national director, said, “WVE continues its effort to strengthen religious leader’s engagement for child well-being, we believe this meeting will be an opportunity for high level faith leaders, government officials, faith-based organizations, donors, NGO partners, UN agencies and other key stakeholders to come together to create a common faith-based initiative to reduce maternal and child deaths in Ethiopia.”
See also
U.S. Ambassador Haslach Remarks [PDF, 32 kb]
USAID Ethiopia Democracy, Human Rights and Governance
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