Globally, the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents are improving faster than at any point in history, even in many of the poorest nations. The transformation is due in great measure to one of the most successful global health initiatives in history: Every Woman Every Child (EWEC). Since its launch by the United Nations in 2010, partners worldwide have made nearly 650 commitments, and more than US$ 45 billion has been disbursed to scale up evidence-based interventions. Greater momentum has been building over the past two years, with more than 200 commitments made since September 2015, when the UN together with governments, the private sector and civil society launched the updated Every Woman Every Child Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (EWEC Global Strategy). This human rights-based strategy is a detailed roadmap for countries to reduce inequities, strengthen fragile health systems and foster multisector approaches in order to end all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents and ensure their well-being.
The EWEC movement puts the EWEC Global Strategy into practice through country-led, multistakeholder engagement and collaboration, and mutual accountability for results, resources and rights. Its core partners include the H6 Partnership (UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, WHO and the World Bank Group), the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and the Global Financing Facility in support of EWEC.
This report details the current situation in relation to the EWEC Global Strategy’s targets and objectives, analyses commitments, implementation and impact between September 2015 and December 2016, and presents the agreed priorities and milestones for further coordination and action
from 2018 to 2020. Further progress reports will be produced annually to underpin the Independent Accountability Panel’s recommendations and to support annual reporting to the World Health Assembly and the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.