WASHINGTON - A HIGH-POWERED alliance of women from government, faith-based organisations, advocacy groups and Hollywood will launch a major drive on Sunday to help impoverished women and girls around the world.

The alliance, which has the backing of Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Queen Noor of Jordan and former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright among other luminaries, will unveil new fundraising commitments of US$1.48 billion (S$2 billion) in the US capital this weekend.

The Women, Faith and Development Alliance (WFDA) says the funds which have been raised so far will cumulatively benefit one billion poor women and girls around the globe.

Hundreds of supporters are expected to attend a summit at Washington's National Cathedral on Sunday where the WFDA will ramp up a campaign aimed in part at changing the policies of governments and multilateral institutions to help eradicate female poverty.

The alliance is also supported by Laura Bush, wife of US President George W. Bush, the former prime minister of Canada, Kim Campbell, and Hollywood actress Ashley Judd.

'This represents new money for programmes and cumulatively we are estimating that this will affect over a billion women and girls worldwide,' said Ritu Sharma Fox, a co-founder and president of Women Thrive Worldwide, who also participated in the call.

Fox said WFDA is lobbying governments and international agencies to provide several billion more dollars to support the female anti-poverty push.

The United Nations Population Fund is one of the biggest backers so far and has made a commitment of US$500 million over several years to address maternal mortality and to stop violence against women.

Islamic Relief has pledged US$43 million to improve education, basic health care and water access for over one million women and girls.

Catholic Relief Services and World Vision have also signed up to the inter-faith grouping which is being supported by the US healthcare products giant Johnson & Johnson and other large corporations.

Activists from Dominica, India, Kenya, Uganda and Jamaica have also joined the growing campaign.

Fox said the financial commitments have been vetted and that program spending in Africa and the Middle East, as well as other locations, will be closely monitored.

Daunting challenges

The women- and girl-focused campaign, like other global anti-poverty drives, faces daunting challenges.

UN figures show that women represent 70 per cent of the world's poor, own just one per cent of titled land, and make up two-thirds of the world's illiterate people.

Experts estimate there are between 1.0 and 1.2 billion people around the world who survive on less than US$1 a day, many of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

'Women and girls in poverty are not asking for new rhetoric or promises.

'They want action that will mean something in their daily lives and have a ripple effect with governments, multilateral institutions, and other organisations,' Ms Albright said ahead of the weekend gathering.

Activists say impoverished women face particular hardships, especially in conflict zones where they are raped and abused, but they say women are often more careful than men with money and better at fostering support networks.

'Over 500,000 women die giving birth, or shortly after birth, it wouldn't happen in modern Ireland, the modern United States, it shouldn't happen, it's cruel that it does and it's because of poverty,' Ms Robinson said.

The UN estimates that half a million women die every year due to preventable complications from pregnancy.

Information on the campaign is available at its website.

Is this article useful to you?