The document outlines a global strategy for women's and children's health aimed at improving healthcare access and outcomes through coordinated action, political will, and effective use of resources. It highlights commitments made by various stakeholders to advance this agenda, particularly in low-income countries, and identifies key areas for urgent action, including strengthening health systems and promoting human rights. The overall goal is to save millions of lives and ensure that all women and children can access essential health services.

1. Women's and Children's Health:
Supporting Accountability
General Perspectives
Carole Presern, Director
International Stakeholders Meeting on Implementing the
Recommendations of the Commission on Information and Accountability
Ottawa, November 20-22, 2011

2. Outline
1. Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health
2. Commitments to the Global Strategy (EWEC) and the 2011
Report
3. Contribution to COIA follow up and the work of the Expert
Review Group?

3. 1. Global Strategy for Women's and Children's
Health
Rodmap to: accelerate
progress, deliver
results, and ensure
accountability
Builds on existing
efforts and aims to
gain new
commitments

4. “Together we must make a decisive
move, now, to improve the health of
women and children around the
world. We know what works…
The answers lie in building our
collective resolve to ensure
universal access to essential health
services and proven, life-saving
interventions as we work to
strengthen health systems. these
range from family planning and
making childbirth safe, to
increasing access to vaccines and
treatment for HIV and AIDS,
malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia
and other neglected diseases.”

5. The aspiration – to save ~16 million lives
Progress in the world's 49 poorest countries if goals are met (2010-15)
• Protect 120 million children from contracting pneumonia
• Prevent 88 million children from stunting
• Prevent 33 million unwanted pregnancies
• Prevent 15 million deaths of children under the age of 5
• Prevent 570 thousand deaths of pregnancy related complications
We have the tools and resources and the political will

6. Key areas for urgent action
1. Plan. Country led health plans - support
2. Integrate. For delivery of quality health services and life-saving
interventions
3. Start with people - stronger health systems, sufficient skilled health
workers, serving mothers and children
4. Innovate – in finance, product development and for the efficient
delivery of health services
5. Promote human rights, equity and gender empowerment
6. Improve monitoring and evaluation to ensure
accountability for resources and results

7. A framework for coordinated action
Health Access
workers
Leadership Accountability
Interventions
Accountability at all levels
for credible results

8. 2. Commitments to Advance the Global
Strategy and the Every Woman Every
Child effort
More than 200 commitments from a range of
constituencies - www.everywomaneverychild.org
Most commitments by low-income countries
Financial, policy and service delivery

9. The 2011Report – analysis of comittments
Aim: introductory analysis of commitments to the
Global Strategy to inform discussion and action on:
Accomplishments of the Global Strategy and the
Every Woman, Every Child effort
Opportunities and challenges in advancing
commitments
Stakeholders’ perceptions - added value of the
Global Strategy
Next steps to strengthen advocacy, action and
accountability
Not a comprehensive stock-taking of all RMNCH
efforts, focuses on Global Strategy commitments

10. Commitments (as of June 2011)
Commitments. No. of stakeholders, by group
(total = 127)
127 stakeholders from a
range of constituencies
Most by low-income
countries (39 out of the
49 countries)

11. Key Findings
Geographic focus: high-burden countries relatively well targeted
Continuum of care: need to focus on service delivery gaps
Added value:
Catalyst - more visibility of women's and children's health
Stimulated internal dialogue
Identified synergies and opportunities for collaboration
Part of global movement!
Source: Analyzing Commitments to Advance the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. PMNCH 2011

12. Alignment of commitments to needs?
15 countries (31%) - more than 10 commitments
8 countries - only one or no commitment
India - 24 commitments
Geographical distribution - with respect to progress on MDGs 4 & 5a

13. Alignment of commitments to needs?
Coverage - RMNCH interventions in Countdown to
2015 countries
Link of needs to commitments uneven:
- Some interventions with already high
coverage:
o Focus of a relatively large number of
commitments
o Neonatal tetanus protection and
childhood immunizations
- Some interventions with low coverage:
o Focus of a limited number of
commitments
o Postnatal care for mother

14. Opportunities and challenges
Increase integration and engagement
Business and MICs
MDG 6 and NCDs
Nutrition, water and other social determinants of health
Link commitments to needs
Bridge the funding gap and clarify access to funds
Harmonize efforts to ensure value for money
Common understanding of what a commitment is to better target
Global Strategy priorities
Prioritize implementation
Invest in innovation to speed up progress
Source: Analyzing Commitments to Advance the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. PMNCH 2011

15. 3. PMNCH 2012-15 Framework
Vision: The achievement of the MDGs, with women and children enabled to
realize their right to the highest attainable standard of health
Mission: Supporting Partners to align their strategic directions
and catalyse collective action to achieve universal access
to agreed essential interventions for women’s and children’s health
SO1: SO2: SO3:
Broker knowledge and Advocate for mobilising and Promote accountability for
innovation for action aligning resources and for resources (results)
greater engagement
Fulfillment of Partnership's role as part of the Countdown to 2015 workplan
Promote implementation of, and access to, essential RMNCH interventions
Efficient, effective and inclusive Partnership Governance/administration

16. PMNCH contribution?
Consultation and dialogue, and action - draw on the platform (430+) to:
Link with other accountability processes
Identify best practices
Draw on 2011 Report database, and adapt if useful
Identify obstacles to implementation of COIA recommendations
Discuss ERG findings and recommendations
Advocacy for uptake of findings and recommendations
- key messages and their dissemination through all constituencies and other
networks

17. Thank you