Peace in Sudan and Liberia, noninfectious diseases, and efforts to assess the performance of organizations that offer small loans to the poor were among the causes that drew pledges yesterday at the Clinton Global Initiative.

The commitments were announced at the opening and closing of yesterday’s discussions, which focused on empowering women and girls, achieving peace in the Middle East, and the role of profit in microfinance, among other topics. Today’s conversations will focus on topics including empowering poor farmers and fighting cancer in the developing world. 

The commitments included:

• A $7-million pledge from Humanity United to promote peace in Sudan and Liberia ahead of important political events in both countries next year. Humanity United is a philanthropy started by Pam Omidyar, wife of the founder of eBay.
• A $1-million pledge from the Medtronic Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the medical-device company, to fight noncommunicable diseases globally. The money will go to the World Heart Federation and the International Diabetes Federation, which are both members of the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance, to help them plan for a high-level U.N. meeting in 2011 on the diseases.
• A $10-million commitment from Laureate International Universities to the International Youth Federation’s Youth Action Net Program for Young Social Entrepreneurs, with the goal of identifying and encouraging young entrepreneurs.
• A commitment by Moody’s Foundation, to develop a ratings system to assess the impact of microfinance organizations on people and poverty.
• A new organization called Enterprise Zimbabwe, to help businesses and philanthropists invest in the African country and develop social programs. The organization was started by Virgin Unite, the nonprofit run by Virgin Group, the airline of Richard Branson, as well as Humanity United and the Nduna Foundation.
• A $7.5-million commitment from NESsT, a group that supports social enterprises, to help more than 2,000 artisans and small-business people in Latin America.
• A new alliance to fight premature deaths and empower women by promoting clean cookstoves that reduce pollution and smoke-related illness. The effort, announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is being supported by governments including the United States, as well as the U.N. Foundation, Shell, and Morgan Stanley.