USAID Announces that Assistant Administrator for Global Health Will Serve as Coordinator for Child and Maternal Survival

For Immediate Release

Monday, March 2, 2015
USAID Press Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced Ariel Pablos-Mendez as Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator, to focus on the goal of ending preventable child and maternal deaths. Katie Taylor, who has served as interim Coordinator, is named Deputy Coordinator.

USAID has been a global leader in reproductive, maternal and child health for half a century, working with partners and missions around the world.  In the last 20 years alone, over 100 million children’s deaths have been averted, and mortality rates are falling faster in recent years as documented by USAID Demographic and Health Surveys. Building on this success and with a bold and optimistic vision, the 2012 Child Survival Call to Action helped catalyze a global movement to end preventable child and maternal deaths, achieving a grand convergence in the mortality levels of poor and richer countries.

The year 2015 marks the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to new Sustainable Development Goals. Health will remain a priority and USAID will play a leading role in ending preventable child and maternal deaths by 2030. USAID’s report “Acting on the Call” has laid an evidence-based plan to accelerate progress in priority countries. Working with regional bureaus and related initiatives, the Coordinator will sharpen our field programs to yield the greatest number of lives saved with operational efficiency and accountability, while building systems and partnerships to sustain our progress.

The Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator will report directly to the Administrator. Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mendez will hold concurrently the position of Coordinator and Assistant Administrator for Global Health. This dual role serves to emphasize that Child and Maternal Survival is a central priority of the Bureau of Global Health and the Agency as a whole.