title: Quality maternity care for every woman, everywhere: a call to action.
abstract: To improve maternal health requires action to ensure quality maternal health care for all women and girls, and to guarantee access to care for those outside the system. In this paper, we highlight some of the most pressing issues in maternal health and ask: what steps can be taken in the next 5 years to catalyse action toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 livebirths by 2030, with no single country exceeding 140? What steps can be taken to ensure that high-quality maternal health care is prioritised for every woman and girl everywhere? We call on all stakeholders to work together in securing a healthy, prosperous future for all women. National and local governments must be supported by development partners, civil society, and the private sector in leading efforts to improve maternal-perinatal health. This effort means dedicating needed policies and resources, and sustaining implementation to address the many factors influencing maternal health-care provision and use. Five priority actions emerge for all partners: prioritise quality maternal health services that respond to the local specificities of need, and meet emerging challenges; promote equity through universal coverage of quality maternal health services, including for the most vulnerable women; increase the resilience and strength of health systems by optimising the health workforce, and improve facility capability; guarantee sustainable finances for maternal-perinatal health; and accelerate progress through evidence, advocacy, and accountability.
authors.affiliation: Maternal and Child Health, HIDN, USAID, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: mkoblinsky@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marjorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koblinsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Learning Health Sciences and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Global REACH, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Moyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calvert
authors.affiliation: Health Workforce, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Oona M R
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Abt Associates, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Feigl
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Wendy J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Abt Associates, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Laurel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hatt
authors.affiliation: Saving Newborn Lives, Save the Children, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hodgins
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Statistics and Demography, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McDougall
authors.affiliation: Maternal and Child Health, HIDN, USAID, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Allisyn C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: Office of Health Systems, USAID, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Allyala K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Nandakumar
authors.affiliation: Maternal Health Task Force, Women and Health Initiative, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Langer
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D063130:Maternal Death / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D009774:Obstetrics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000639:trends; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations