Governments worldwide should work with the U.N. on a joint action plan to significantly improve the health of women and children around the world by 2015, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a speech at the opening of the Women Deliver conference on Monday in Washington, DC, Agence France-Presse reports.

In a videotaped messsage, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said “that women will only reach their full potential if maternal health care is improved,” AFP writes. President Barack Obama has pledged $63 billion for the Global Health Initiative to strengthen health systems in developing countries, “with a particular focus on the health of women, newborns and children,” Clinton said. “Women’s and children’s health will feature high on the agenda at the upcoming G8 meeting in Canada, she added.”

AFP also reports that Melinda Gates “was due to announce major funding for women’s and children’s health initiatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Over three days, some 3,500 conference participants from 140 countries will look at progress that has been made in improving global maternal health and assess the challenges that remain” (6/7).

In the lead up to the conference, news outlets covered different aspects of the event and maternal and child health:

• “Stephen Harper missing women’s health summit,” Toronto Star (Ward, 6/6).

• “Gates Foundation to Direct Funds to Women and Girls,” Forbes’ “Work In Porgress” blog (Hymowitz, 6/4).

• “How does Uganda measure on maternal health issues?” New Vision (Kizza, 6/6).

• “India lags in mom, child mortality fight” Times of India (Varma, 6/7).