Knowledge for effective action to improve the health of women, children and adolescents in the sustainable development era

Bull World Health Organ 2016;94:310–310A | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.16.174243 Editorials 310 January 2016 marked the beginning of a new era for health and development. It was the start of Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable develop- ment and its accompanying sustainable development goals (SDGs).1 All govern- ments have committed to this ambitious sustainable agenda and its goals. The Global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (2016– 2030)2 and its operational framework are aligned with the SDGs and provide an evidence-based roadmap for ending pre- ventable deaths of women, children and adolescents by 2030. The global strategy can guide collective action so that every woman, child and adolescent – even those living in the most challenging settings – can achieve their full potential and rights to health and well-being. Governments are aligning their work with the SDGs and the global strategy’s three objectives – survive, thrive and transform – in ways that meet their countries’ priorities and unique contexts. The survival, health and well-being of women, children and adolescents are essential to achieving the SDGs. Analysis of lessons from the millennium development goal (MDG) implementation process – what has worked and what hasn’t – is needed to effectively implement the agenda set by the SDGs and the global strategy. Achieving the global strategy and the SDGs will require the use of the best available knowledge for action, as well as investment in new research and innovation. This month’s Bulletin theme issue seeks to broaden the evidence on effective country implementation and lessons learnt from the MDGs. Kuruvilla et al.3 summarize the current global strategy, show how the objectives of the strategy are aligned with the SDGs and how selected countries are already making progress. Several papers in this issue deal with progress on the survival objective of the global strategy; Negandhi et al.4 present a surveillance-based maternal and infant death review system in India; Murguía-Peniche et al.5 and McKin- non et al.6 address under-researched topics, such as the factors associated with stillbirths in Mexico and the high prevalence of suicidal behaviours among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, respectively. The strategy’s thrive objective ad- dresses the overall health and well-being of mothers, children and adolescents. Chai et al.7 determine how exposure to violence hinders child development and can affect health across the life-course and subsequent generations. Askew et al.8 describe the importance of ensur- ing sexual and reproductive health and rights in humanitarian settings. The transform objective of the strategy focuses on expanding enabling environments and aims to transform societies so that women, children and adolescents everywhere can realize their rights to the highest attainable standards of health and well-being. Several papers address the global strategy’s transform objective. Newberry et al.9 present a for- mal emergency response infrastructure developed in India for gender-based violence. This special issue also includes papers on approaches that have helped countries achieve improved health outcomes for women, children and adolescents. Marston et al.10 discuss the importance of community engage- ment in achieving results. Ahmed et al.11 describe policies and programmes that contributed to reductions in child and maternal mortality. Frost et al.12 explain how multistakeholder dialogues are used to clarify what works and does not work in policy-making and imple- mentation. To drive the global strategy for- ward, governments, civil society, the private sector and other partners have mobilized under the banner of Every Woman Every Child and a group of political champions has been formed. A global financing facility has been established as a country-led partner- ship that combines domestic, external, and innovative financing for health and development. An independent account- ability panel has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to report on results, resources and rights for women’s children’s and adolescents’ health. This month, the World Health Assembly will consider a resolution on implementing the global strategy, giving delegations an opportunity to discuss its content and shape their own com- mitments. In addition, this theme issue illustrates the importance of continued investments in research and learning to support country implementation. The generation and sharing of knowledge for action is essential to achieve the global strategy’s objectives, to secure a healthy and transformative future for women, children and adoles- cents, their families and communities in the SDG era. ■ Knowledge for effective action to improve the health of women, children and adolescents in the sustainable development era Flavia Bustreo,a Robin Gornab & David Nabarroc References Available at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/vol- umes/94/5/16-174243 a Family, Women’s and Children’s Health, World Health Organization avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. b Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. c United Nations, New York, United States of America. Correspondence to Flavia Bustreo (email: bustreof@who.int). E itorials Editorials 310ABull World Health Organ 2016;94:310–310A | doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.16.174243 References 1. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations; 2015. 2. Global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (2016–2030). New York: Every Woman Every Child; 2015. 3. Kuruvilla S, Bustreo F, Kuo N, Mishra CK, Taylor K, Fogstad H, et al. The Global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (2016–2030): a roadmap based on evidence and country experience. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):398–400. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/ BLT.16.170431 4. Negandhi P, Neogi S, Chopra S, Phogat A, Sahota R, Gupta R, et al. Improving reporting of infant deaths, maternal deaths and stillbirths in Haryana, India. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):370–375. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.15.157693 5. Murguía-Peniche T, Illescas-Zárate D, Chico-Barba G, Bhutta Z. An ecological study of stillbirths in Mexico from 2000 to 2013. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):322–330B. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.15.154922 6. McKinnon B, Gariépy G, Sentenac M, Elgar F. Adolescent suicidal behaviours in 32 low- and middle-income countries. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):340–350G. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.15.163295 7. Chai J, Fink G, Kaaya S, Danaei G, Fawzi W, Ezzati M, et al. Association between intimate partner violence and poor child growth: results from 42 demographic and health surveys. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):331–339.doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.15.152462 8. Askew I, Khosla R, Daniels U, Krause S, Lofthouse C, Say L, et al. Sexual and reproductive health and rights in emergencies. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):311. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.16.173567 9. Newberry J, Mahadevan S, Gohil N, Jamshed R, Prajapati J, Ramana Rao G, et al. Using an emergency response infrastructure to help women who experience gender-based violence in Gujarat, India. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):388–392. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/ BLT.15.163741 10. Marston C, Hinton R, Kean S, Baral S, Ahuja A, Costello A, et al. Community participation for transformative action on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):376–382. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.15. 168492 11. Ahmed SM, Rawal L, Chowdhury S, Murray J, Arscott-Mills S, Jack S, et al. Cross-country analysis of strategies for achieving progress towards global goals for women’s and children’s health. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):351–361. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.15.168450 12. Frost L, Hinton R, Pratt B, Murray J, Arscott-Mills S, Jack S, et al. Using multistakeholder dialogues to assess policies, programmes and progress for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. Bull World Health Organ. 2016 May 1;94(5):393–395. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.16.171710