* Plan aims to save lives of 16 million women, children
* Non-governmental organizations express skepticism
By Patrick Worsnip and Lesley Wroughton
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon will launch on Wednesday a $40 billion global strategy to save the lives of 16 million women and children over the next five years as part of efforts to reduce global poverty, hunger and disease.
The drive aims to make headway on the slowest-moving sectors of the Millennium Development Goals set by the world body 10 years ago -- maternal and child health.
World leaders from 140 countries are expected to endorse a declaration at the end of a three-day summit on Wednesday that calls for stepped-up efforts to achieve the goals by 2015.
"It's the first time we've seen across-the-board agreement on how we approach women's and children's health," Robert Orr, a senior aide to Ban, told Reuters, adding that the plan would be endorsed by the 192 U.N. member states.
The world body agrees that the goals of halving poverty and hunger are within reach, but more is needed to meet those on improving education and maternal health, reducing child mortality, combating major diseases, promoting gender equality and protecting the environment.
It argues that investing in the health of women and children reduces poverty and stimulates economic growth. In addition to saving lives, the global strategy would seek to prevent 33 million unwanted pregnancies by 2015, the year in which the development goals are set to be completed, it said.
A U.N. statement said more than $40 billion had been pledged by governments, foundations, businesses and non-governmental organizations. The figure covers both domestic investment and aid to other countries.
'LEARNED TO BE SKEPTICAL'
Emma Seery, spokeswoman for the development group Oxfam, said an additional $88 billion was needed to meet child and maternal health goals by 2015 and anything less was not enough.
"We have learned to be skeptical of big announcements at summits," Seery said in a statement. "What really counts is where the money is coming from, which means leaders going home and putting that money into national budgets."
Joanna Kerr, chief executive of the anti-poverty group ActionAid, called the summit an "expensive side-show that offered everything to everyone and nothing to no one."
"An avalanche of warm sentiment cleverly concealed the fact that no fully funded plans of action for tackling poverty were actually announced," Kerr said.
U.N. officials said nearly $27 billion was new money being announced by governments -- indicating the rest had already been committed since plans for a global strategy for women's and children's health were first disclosed in April. Some $8.6 billion was coming from low-income countries, they said.
Orr said that if 16 million lives are to be saved, the total sum needed would be as high as $169 billion. He said the $40 billion launch is expected to attract further pledges in coming years.
The statement described the global strategy as "a road map that identifies the finance and policy changes needed as well as critical interventions that can and do improve health and save lives."
"Mothers and children must be at the very center of development," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in an e-mailed statement. "Yet in too many countries they are an afterthought."
The summit has seen support by leaders from rich and poor countries to achieve the development goals and a recognition that the global financial and economic crisis has complicated the poverty-fighting agenda.
Ban has called on rich donors not to cut aid as they struggle to balance their budgets and stave off further job losses fueling frustration among voters at home.
(Editing by Will Dunham)
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