Addis Ababa, 13 July 2015 (WIC) –Commentary by Hailemariam Desalegn, Erna Solberg, Jim Yong Kim
On July 13–16, 2015, leaders from around the globe will meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the Third International Financing for Development Conference. The promise of this conference is in both finding new resources for development and doing development differently. We are setting a course of bold action for sustainable results to achieve a world in which every woman, child, and adolescent thrives and realises her full potential. The launch of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) at the conference in Addis Ababa will be an essential pillar to support this goal.
Healthy women, children, and adolescents are the foundations of robust economies and resilient societies. They are our smartest investment.1 This is why the soon-to-be-completed UN Secretary General’s new Global Strategy for Every Woman Every Child2 will be an important part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)3 for 2030. The new Global Strategy for Every Woman Every Child builds on the momentum established by the Millennium Development Goals.4 More than 100 million children’s lives have been saved since 1990,5 and the risk of dying in pregnancy for mothers has almost been halved.6 Low-income countries such as Ethiopia have seen remarkable progress in reducing maternal and child mortality as a result of steadfast commitment of governments, an unprecedented level of global development assistance, and increased community empowerment.7
Despite this progress, there is no room for complacency. Today the under-5 child mortality rate in low-income countries is still more than 15 times higher than in high-income countries, and the maternal mortality rate is nearly 30 times higher.5, 6 Eliminating these inequities requires universal access to quality essential health services for every woman, child, and adolescent. The good news is that the world has the knowledge, the means, and innovative capability to close this gap. For example, Ethiopia’s national deployment of community health workers has been a key driver of improved health outcomes in rural communities.7 At least three dozen countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia, are achieving improved health outcomes in child and maternal health with existing funds through the use of results-based financing to expand delivery of essential interventions, such as family planning, antenatal care, skilled birth attendants, and childhood vaccinations.8 There is also evidence that investing in the health and education of women is vital to the survival and prosperity of their children.9
Building on this experience, the report of the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health forecast that a convergence in mortality of mothers and children between high-income and low-income countries is possible within a generation, with a potential economic return of between US$9 and $20 on every $1 invested.1
The annual financing shortfall of the 63 countries with the highest burdens of maternal and child mortality for these vital interventions currently stands at $33 billion, or almost $10 per person.10 The GFF can help reduce this shortfall. A key financing platform for the Global Strategy for Every Woman Every Child, the GFF is a country-led financing partnership that aligns and unites resources from low-income countries, international donors, and the private sector to accelerate investments in the health of women and children. The GFF will provide financing that incentivises stronger performance and demand, while also increasing efficiency and improving measurement and accountability for results, for example with impact evaluations.10
As national economies grow and countries make the transition from low-income to lower-middle-income or even upper-middle-income status, the GFF will work with them to mobilise additional domestic resources to ensure sustainable financing for health services. And through its link to the ministries of finance, the GFF will also leverage investments beyond the health sector, such as in education, water and sanitation, and civil registration and vital statistics systems. The GFF is projected to avert nearly 4 million maternal deaths and 100 million child deaths by 2030.10
The Every Woman Every Child movement’s many partners, along with the leadership of UN agencies, have a key role in implementation of the GFF to ensure that international support is well coordinated and based on the most effective policies and practices.
In the past 15 years, financing for global health has increased from millions to billions of dollars. Ending preventable maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent deaths by 2030, however, is a trillion-dollar financing challenge. Together with other financing partnerships, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the GFF will help us take this next quantum leap from billions to trillions with a smart, scaled, and sustainable approach to financing. We call on all development partners to join with us in Addis Ababa in moving towards a better, more prosperous future for every woman and every child.
HD is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. ES is the Prime Minister of Norway. JYK is President of The World Bank Group. We declare no competing interests. (FBC)