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A selection of news, resources and opportunities for action and advocacy around women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health
October 2021
22 September | Virtual event
Delegates at the 10th Annual PMNCH Accountability Breakfast: Improving health equity in Africa called for greater accountability from governments and leaders in delivering on their commitments to improve women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health in Africa during the COVID-19 response and recovery, with a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
The event boasted a host of high-level speakers, video interventions and a Leadership Dialogue, moderated by PMNCH Board Chair, Helen Clark. New commitments for the PMNCH Call to Action on COVID-19 were announced from Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Paraguay, Zambia, Costa Rica and Zimbabwe. This brings the new total of commitments received to 20 countries, including both donor and programme countries.
COP26 is the first UN global climate summit since the pandemic, and with health dominating the political agenda, the health community can make a difference in the negotiations.
Ahead of the crucial Pre-Cop Summit in Italy, more than 70 participants joined a PMNCH-organized panel in partnership with the Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, Y-PEER, CORE Group and Countdown to 2030. The event drew sharp attention to the critical interlinkages of the climate crisis with adolescent well-being and heard a strong call for action from a youth-led panel. Read more¦ Watch event
PMNCH’s Health Care Professional Associations Constituency has also called for action by supporting the #HealthyClimate Prescription letter and urging the health community to sign on to this critical step in the global effort for ambitious climate action. To find resources to help advocate for climate action and spread the word about the letter, follow this link.
Stay tuned for updates on PMNCH events at COP26.
This month, I am highlighting work coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to track progress in implementing the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030). The WHO’s Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing data portal has introduced a comprehensive set of country profiles to summarize current progress, using agreed Global Strategy monitoring indicators. For each WHO member-state, tables and charts depict indicator status and trends, grouped in relation to three main themes of the Global Strategy – Survive, Thrive, Transform. A guidance video is included on the portal to support users in accessing these profiles, including for country-level accountability and advocacy purposes.
The country profiles are the latest contribution by WHO and partners to the monitoring of GS implementation, ongoing since its 2015 launch in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. PMNCH, through its Accountability Working Group, remains a close partner of the Global Strategy monitoring effort.
Continue reading here.
This fourth video in a series focusing on self-care interventions during COVID-19 provides practical guidance for women and children experiencing violence and what they can do to seek help and support. PMNCH produced this video along with UNICEF, UN Women and WHO, including HRP. It was created by Studio Eeksaurus with support from Medical Aid Films.
Learn about the series here.
This new guide from UHC2030 presents a step-by-step guide to help parliamentarians translate technical public health language and global commitments on UHC into concrete country actions. It includes a section dedicated to SRHR and adds to broader efforts on capacity building to ensure UHC, such as the Health Budget Toolkit developed in July 2021 by PMNCH and UHC2030 to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations, the media and parliaments for health budget advocacy.
This new guide was developed together with more than 13 Parliamentarian networks and MPs from 39 countries. Read here.
For the first time in its history, UNICEF's The State of the World’s Children examines mental health, with a special focus on how risk and protective factors in the home, school and community shape mental health outcomes. Against a backdrop of rising awareness of mental health issues, and growing demand for action, the report argues that we now have a unique opportunity to promote good mental health for every child, protect vulnerable children and care for children facing the greatest challenges. Read here.
The groundbreaking What Women Want campaign asked women and girls around the world one simple question: What is your one request for quality reproductive and maternal healthcare service? The 1.2 million open-ended responses White Ribbon Alliance received have been categorized, analyzed, and are now available through the What Women Want Interactive Dashboard, a unique tool that connects women’s voices with the almost infinite possibilities of digital analysis. Explore dashboard.
Unsafe and Disrespectful Health Practices Continue to Harm the Most Vulnerable Women and Newborns
Providing respectful care means meeting the needs of communities and individuals, and taking women’s views and preferences into full account, writes Helga Fogstad, PMNCH Executive Director, on the occasion of World Patient Safety Day 2021, which this year focused on safe and respectful maternal and newborn care. Read this UN Chronicle Op-ed here.
Let’s reverse our slogans: no healthy life without universal health coverage
Co-authors, on behalf of the Coalition of Partnerships for UHC and Global Health, say to promote good health and well-being for all, we must address barriers to health and prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable. Read BMJ piece here.
Why the world is failing to prepare for the next global health crisis
Coronavirus has highlighted just how crucial good hygiene is. So, why are we still not prioritizing access to sanitation, handwashing and drinking water? Helen Clark and other experts weigh in. Read here.
Podcasts
While the COVID-19 pandemic caused devastation across the world, women and children bore a disproportionate burden. Poor mental health, disruptions to education, loss of income and violence were just some of the consequences, and these experiences were similar across some regions. Civil society groups, supported by PMNCH, conducted a study to understand these impacts and inform the response to the pandemic. All Indians Matter spoke to the leading lights of this effort across India, Africa and Latin America.
Listen here.
Mamás del Río is a social innovation focused on improving maternal and newborn health in rural regions of the Amazon in Peru and Colombia. This podcast episode explores how communities, citizen-led organizations and researchers are driving social innovations such as Mamás del Rio to improve health service delivery and strengthen health systems. This episode is part of the Global Health Matters podcast series from TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and WHO.
Listen to Episode 4 and the full series here.
MSD for Mothers has launched a new multi-sectoral initiative that aims to accelerate progress towards SDG 3.1 by investing in locally-led collective action to strengthen health systems. Expressions of Interest are sought from organizations with roots in sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia that will work in coalition with local partners across sectors to implement and evaluate evidence-informed solutions that will result in a measurable and sustainable reduction in maternal deaths and, by extension, stillbirths and newborn deaths. Participate here.
This new initiative aims to centre children’s health and well-being in all policies, to ensure an equitable, sustainable future. It is based at University College London, with WHO, UNICEF, and The Lancet as founding partners, and with the special advice of Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair and Awa Coll-Seck, Minister of State, Senegal. Children in All Policies 2030 (CAP-2030), is working with organizations around the world to implement the recommendations of the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission report “A future for the world’s children” by promoting children’s rights and protecting their health through science, advocacy, and coalition-building. More information here.
Prominent health leaders call on countries and leaders to use this pandemic as a wake-up call and an opportunity to invest in comprehensive UHC systems to achieve a healthier, more equitable post-COVID world of tomorrow. This inspiring video from the African Union, Africa CDC, PMNCH and other organizations, features key leaders in the fight for a healthier Africa. Watch here.
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