Maternity Matters: Advancing quality care for all through healthy beginnings and healthy futures

Every seven seconds, a woman or baby dies due to complications in pregnancy, childbirth, or the first few weeks after giving birth. Despite global efforts, mortality declines have stalled since 2016, with limited funding and public sector resources has hindering progress. However, we can and must reverse this trend by strengthening health systems and scaling effective interventions.

In 2024, 194 countries committed to the World Health Assembly MNCH Resolution, which aimed to accelerate progress in maternal, newborn, and child health to achieve SDG targets 3.1 and 3.2. This resolution, led by Somalia, was part of a broader global effort to reinvigorate momentum for addressing the urgent needs in improving maternal, newborn and child health. This resolution builds on the significant efforts made by countries over recent years to implementing critical MNCH interventions for improving the access, availability and quality of maternal and newborn care, including through global initiatives such as the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) initiative that aims to support countries accelerate progress in MNH by 2030.

With access to domestic and international financing being a challenge, we risk backtracking on the progress made to date. Maternal and newborn health progress also risks further stagnation — threatening women’s and children’s survival, and overall wellbeing and livelihoods. Health systems, and community-based solutions, must evolve to address the complex health issues and mitigate the impact of funding cuts on maternal and newborn health.

With just five years remaining to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3—reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030—urgent and collective action is critical. Mobilizing resources and scaling effective interventions must be a global priority.

Diverse speakers will explore various dimensions of maternal health, related to:

Strengthen Health Systems and Support Frontline Health Providers

• Explore how strong leadership, adequate resources, data, and strategic partnerships can enhance healthcare systems, ensuring providers have the training, tools, and essential medical commodities needed to deliver quality, equitable care for women and children.
• Discuss how innovative models of care, such as midwifery models of care, can help countries further accelerate progress on MNH
• Highlight strategies for responding to the current funding gaps in countries, particularly in fragile settings

Elevate Women’s Voices for Meaningful Change

• Discuss how a strategic yet locally driven approach can ensure that women’s experiences and needs—particularly regarding access to life-saving medicines, supplies, and respectful care—shape maternal health care policies and drive improvements in quality care.

Forge Strong Alliances for Collective Progress

• Examine how multisectoral and multistakeholder collaborations can align resources, expertise, and investments—including ensuring a reliable supply of maternal and newborn health commodities—with country-led priorities to accelerate progress in maternal and newborn health.[A1]

This session will bring together key stakeholders to explore how to renew momentum in maternal and newborn survival, despite shifting global financing priorities. Join us as we explore how to accelerate progress in maternal and newborn survival — ensuring that every woman and baby has access to quality care and a healthy future.