Global progress on maternal, newborn, and child survival has slowed significantly in recent years, despite decades of proven interventions and global commitments. Every day, hundreds of mothers and thousands of newborns and children under 5 still die from largely preventable causes, with the burden concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and fragile settings.

Funding cuts, conflict, economic instability, and persistent inequities are threatening progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, including efforts to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality in line with SDG targets 3.1 and 3.2.

Against this backdrop, MSD for Mothers, in partnership with UNICEF; the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA; Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere, or EWENE; and Child Survival Action, or CSA, convened a discussion during the 2026 World Health Assembly. The session brought together global health leaders and member state representatives to preview findings from the soon-to-be-released 2026 EWENE and CSA progress report — which tracks data from 107 countries — diving into what is working at a country level, where progress is stalling, and how countries can accelerate implementation before 2030.

Political Leadership and Accountability Are Essential to Solution Implementation

Throughout the discussion, speakers stressed that technical solutions already exist, but implementation and accountability remain inconsistent. Kenya emerged as a leading example of political commitment translating into systemwide action.

Honorable Aden Bare Duale, EGH, cabinet secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Health, described how maternal and newborn survival has become a national priority within Kenya’s universal health coverage agenda. Since 2003, skilled birth attendance has more than doubled from 41% to 89%, and under-5 mortality has fallen from 115 to 41 per 1,000 live births.

Kenya has introduced real-time digital dashboards to track maternal and newborn deaths by facility, geography, and cause, while requiring county-level reporting through a legal mandate. The government is also rolling out a national acceleration plan focused on 26 high-burden counties and expanding free maternal care through its social health insurance system.

Read the full article about accelerating women, newborn, and child survival globally at Devex.