United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced a $40 billion investment from businesses, governments, and foundations to reduce maternal and child deaths, including $30 million from MacArthur. Grantees, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the White Ribbon Alliance, have committed to use their resources to support the UN plan. The announcement came at the end of a three-day meeting about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight social development and poverty alleviation benchmarks to be met by 2015, including reducing maternal mortality rates by three-quarters. Despite a decline in maternal deaths worldwide, from an estimated 546,000 in 1990 to 358,000 in 2008, according to a new study by the World Health Organization, progress toward reducing maternal deaths lags behind that of other MDGs. The announcement was reported by Reuters, PBS NewsHour, the Huffington Post, the Toronto Star, and media outlets around the world.
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