The Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030)

Overview

The new Global Strategy aims to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all women, children and adolescents, transform the future and ensure that every newborn, mother and child not only survives, but thrives. Updated through a process of collaboration with stakeholders led by WHO, the Strategy builds on the success of the 2010 Strategy and its Every Woman Every Child movement, which helped accelerate the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals and will act as a platform to put women, children and adolescents at the heart of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“WHO is deeply committed to working with countries and partners to transform the bold ideas of this strategy into reality. We all must hold ourselves accountable to measure and track progress towards these ambitious goals to ensure that every woman, child and adolescent has access to the health services they need to survive and thrive.”  Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization

"It is a grand vision. But it is achievable. By implementing the Global Strategy we can deliver a historic transformation that will improve the lives of generations to come. To that end, I will continue to mobilize ambitious action from global leaders and promote the engagement of all sectors of society. Together, we can end the preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents everywhere and create a world in which, for the first time in history, all can thrive and reach their full potential." Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General, United Nations

The Global Strategy is intended to inspire political leaders and policy-makers to further accelerate their work to improve the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents. It is also intended as a guide to enable people and communities to drive change, claim their rights and hold leaders to account. The Global Strategy has been developed through an extensive consultation process involving governments, civil society, the private sector, UN agencies, and other constituencies. More than 7,000 individuals, organizations, and government representatives participated in the consultations during the World Health Assembly, through face-to-face and online consultations, as well as through the development of evidence-based background papers.