WHO supports Member States in enacting policies, adopting norms and standards, and strengthening health systems to ensure equity and universal access to people-centered sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, adult and older people’s health services, and to promote health, development and well-being along the life course.

To meet Sustainable Development Goal targets 3.1 (maternal mortality) and 3.2 (neonatal and under-five mortality), as well as the Every Newborn Action Plan target for the reduction of stillbirths, the African Region has to accelerate efforts by more than 3 to 7-fold. The Region accounts for a disproportionate share of global maternal, neonatal and under-five deaths, as well as stillbirths — half of which occur during labor. Most of these deaths are preventable through proven, cost-effective interventions.

These outcomes are driven by inequitable access to quality care, weak health systems, and adverse social and environmental determinants. More than ever, addressing these challenges requires a transformative, multisectoral approach rooted in primary health care, led and driven by Member States, to ensure that no one is left behind.