United Nations, Sep 24

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday that at least $700 million would be invested by 2015 to help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and children's health.

The funding will come from the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank group's fund for the poorest countries, Xinhua reported citing a statement from the World Bank president.

It will enable national scale-ups of successful pilot projects that were made possible by support from the World Bank's Health Results Innovation Trust Fund (HRITF) and IDA, the statement said.

"We need to inject greater urgency into our collective efforts to save more women and children's lives, and evidence shows that results-based financing has significant impact," said Kim at a high-level forum at the United Nations. 

"The World Bank Group is committed to using evidence-based approaches to help ensure that every woman and every child can get the affordable, quality health care necessary to survive and live a healthy, productive life," he added.

The announcement follows Kim's last year's commitment to help boost funding for the MDGs as part of the UN secretary general's Every Woman Every Child global partnership.

Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health by 2015 are two of the Millennium Development Goals, a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and leading development institutions.

By:IANS