Devex: Opinion: Business as usual won’t work for maternal and child health
Helga Fogstad, executive director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health

“…The widespread health inequality that disproportionately affects women, children, and adolescents in remote areas, communities affected by poverty, patriarchal cultures, and humanitarian settings screams loud and clear that the status quo needs to be broken. … [F]ocusing on solutions to improve the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents is one of the greatest investments we can make, contributing to not only social development but also economic growth. … As the world’s largest multistakeholder alliance for women’s, children’s, and adolescent health and well-being, [the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH)] has the strength of over 1,000 partner organizations. … If it were not for PMNCH partners, child and maternal mortality in [low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)] would still be drastically high. The collective efforts by PMNCH’s partners during the years of the MDGs led to 50 percent reduction in child and maternal mortality in these countries. It is now time to build upon the gains accomplished during the MDG era and strive for more multisectoral collaborations to address health challenges in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Business as usual is not enough and will no longer work” (3/6).