QED efforts aim to ensure equitable access to good-quality care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period and to ensure that all women, newborns, children and adolescents have a positive experience of care that respects and fulfils their rights.

Why is QED a focus area for 2018-2020?

The global momentum for universal health coverage provides an opportunity to improve access to and quality of care – both are required to meet the Sustainable Development Goal targets for ending preventable maternal, newborn, child and adolescent deaths by 2030.

The unacceptably high levels of preventable maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity and of stillbirths are due largely to inequitable access to good-quality care during pregnancy and childbirth and to lack of skilled care and treatment for small and sick newborns in the 28 days following birth. Good-quality care includes respecting the rights and dignity of all people, regardless of their age, ethnicity, sex, gender, locality and socioeconomic status.

The standards and guidelines on the care required by all pregnant women and newborns, and services to prevent and manage the main causes of maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths, are well supported by evidence. However, tailored strategies and resources are needed to ensure access to and quality of such care in many low-resource settings, where almost all preventable maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths occur.

What needs to be done?

There is widespread agreement that QED is an urgent priority requiring collaborative action on several fronts. That action includes:

• fostering understanding that most maternal and newborn deaths and intrapartum stillbirths are preventable when appropriate and timely care is available;
• increasing attention to quality, equity and dignity issues and to the improvements required;
• mobilizing political commitments and dedicated financial resources to support national QED plans, programmes and interventions;
• supporting women, families, communities, health providers and others to engage in designing and implementing QED policies and programmes;
• ensuring that community-based evidence and knowledge are synthesized, collated and distributed; and
• working in partnership with humanitarian actors to overcome the specific challenges in settings involving logistical difficulties, inadequate supplies, limited staff and insecurity.

How is PMNCH making a difference?

PMNCH coordinates and aligns action across its 10 constituencies to accelerate progress towards ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths, morbidities and stillbirths and enabling all new mothers and their newborns to thrive.

PMNCH supports partners in integrating QED into national UHC plans, increasing equitable access to good-quality and respectful care and increasing investment in nursing and midwifery. PMNCH promotes access to relevant knowledge and evidence, shares best practices and plays a lead role in advocacy and social media communications, raising awareness of the need for action on QED at national, regional and global levels.

At country level, PMNCH also supports quality of care coalitions, citizen hearings and other efforts to increase demand for QED interventions and to involve parents and communities in the development, implementation and monitoring of key policies and programmes.