Giving Compass' Take:

· Kate Kelland explains that donors from 10 countries have pledged $1 billion to a fund backed by the World Bank aimed at improving the nutrition and overall health of women and children in poor countries. 

· How can funders support and encourage more efforts like this? 

· Learn about the 2030 SDG trajectories for maternal and child health.

Governments of 10 countries joined philanthropists and the European Commission on Tuesday to pledge $1 billion to a World Bank-backed fund for improving health and nutrition among millions of women and children in poor countries.

The money will help replenish the Global Financing Facility (GFF) - a fund set up in 2015 to help poor countries change the way they finance health by encouraging long-term investment in life-saving maternal and newborn health policies.

The GFF’s focus is on high-impact measures like newborn and childhood nutrition, access to contraception and key maternity services.

Its director, Mariam Claeson, said the new funds would help it bring about “transformative change” in global health.

Read the full article about funding for maternal and child health by Kate Kelland at Reuters.