Kofi Annan on the G-20 Summit

Reflecting on this past weekend's G-20 summit on the global economy, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said:

"It would be incredibly short-sighted - as well as immoral - for wealthy countries to use this financial crisis to drop promises to help the poorest."

As the UN Dispatch blog put it: "Investing in eliminating extreme poverty around the world is not simply a moral exigency; it is in wealthier countries' strategic interests to do so. A poorer, more stratified, and likely more extremist world is in no country's interest." When it comes to maternal health, here's the global price tag:

• Increase investment in maternal and newborn health by US$5 billion annually by 2010 and by an additional US$8 billion annually by 2015.