London  - The wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged G8 leaders to "continue the revolution" in improving health care for the world's poorest nations, especially in Africa.

In an article published in the Guardian Wednesday, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy wrote that millions of lives had already been saved since the G8 nations set up the Global Fund to Fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria at a 2001 meeting in Genoa, Italy.

While a lot had been achieved, there remained great deal to do, wrote Bruni-Sarkozy, adding that she was "especially concerned about women and children, because in most parts of the world, they tend to come last in line."

"Although we still have a long way to go to protect mothers and children from HIV, effective Aids treatment has enabled over half a million mothers to avoid transmitting HIV to their children. Millions of children orphaned by Aids receive food, education and social support through programmes backed by the Global Fund," she said.

The "amazing turnaround" had given hundreds of millions of people around the world new hope that deadly diseases could finally be controlled.

"This revolution is beginning to transform Africa, yet much of the progress made in reducing poverty over the past decades is under threat from the effects of the global economic crisis," wrote Bruni-Sarkozy.

"Health investments reduce inequities, however, and at a time of economic hardship, they are more important than ever to preserve social stability," she said.  (dpa)