To lay the foundations for development issues for the G8 leaders' summit in June 2010, G8 ministers and senior officials responsible for development cooperation concluded a two-day meeting here Wednesday.

They agreed to push forward on some of the world's most urgent development priorities, including a Canadian initiative to boost maternal and child health in developing countries. However, they didn't produce any clear commitments.

Meeting at a time when the impacts of the economic and food crises continue to affect developing countries, the ministers focused on three key themes: strengthening accountability and effectiveness of development assistance; improving the health of mothers, newborns, and children under five in developing countries; and accelerating food security efforts, including nutrition.

Accountability and effectiveness

G8 ministers agreed that more determined political action is needed to deliver on existing aid effectiveness commitments, including greater predictability and transparency of aid, reducing transaction costs and fragmentation.

They emphasized the importance of accountability to their own citizens for the effective use of international assistance, stressing that it is more important than ever to pay what they pledge on time so that partner countries can better plan and budget, and to shift the focus from inputs to sustainable outcomes.

To increase the effectiveness of international assistance, the ministers asked the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to report on progress and challenges related to predictability in advance of the December 2010 Development Assistance Committee High-Level Meeting. They also requested that the evidence base for aid effectiveness be strengthened.

Maternal, child health

The ministers agreed that healthy mothers, healthy children and their reduced mortality and morbidity are a top priority for the G8. They expressed deep concern for the fact that the lives of far too many mothers and children are still lost every year.

To lay the groundwork for a new G8 summit initiative on maternal, newborn and under-five child health and building on past G8 commitments, the ministers agreed to a set of core principles for long-lasting results, including ensuring sustainability of results, supporting country-led national health policies and plans that enjoy local support, and strengthening monitoring, reporting, and evaluation, among others.

They also agreed that progress in the health sector does not require new mechanisms, funds and structures. Rather, existing mechanisms and structures need to be aligned around a common set of goals and aid effectiveness principles, particularly in support of country plans and systems.