Maternal and child health services in the twenty-first century: critical issues, challenges, and opportunities.
Poor women, their children, and families use public-funded maternal and child health (MCH) services worldwide. However, with the decline in public-funded health services and the growing role of private-financed systems, poor women and their children are at risk of falling through the cracks of business-driven health systems. This article is an overview of (a) critical MCH global health and non-health issues, and (b) 10 MCH challenges in the twenty-first century. MCH advocates can turn these challenges into unique opportunities for MCH clients by developing public/private partnerships at local, state, national, and international levels that will assure the provision of basic clinical and public health services in either public- or private-financed health systems.
Akukwe
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George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Care Sciences, Washington, DC, USA. cakukwe@att.net
D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002669:Child Welfare; D003256:Community Participation; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government; D005544:Forecasting; D014943:Global Health; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector