Cortez, RafaelSaadat, SeemeenChowdhury, SadiaSarker, Intissar2014-12-172014-12-172014-05https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20757Considerable progress has been made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since 1990. Although advances in improving MDG 4 and MDG 5a (reducing child and maternal mortality, respectively) have been made, progress is some countries have been insufficient. While some countries have made substantial gains, others have not. This paper is part of a larger study that aims to address this gap in knowledge. The paper discusses the findings from qualitative case studies of five countries that are either on track to meet MDGs 4 and 5a by 2015 or have made significant progress to this end (Bolivia, China, Egypt, Malawi and Nepal). Although they have different socio-economic characteristics, all have made significant advancements due to a strong commitment to improving maternal and child health. To do this, strong political commitment, through policies backed by financial and programmatic support, was critical. In addition, focusing on the most vulnerable populations helped increase access to and use of services. Empowering women and families through education, employment, and poverty reduction programs have led to better health outcomes. These countries still face challenges, however, in terms of the evolving health system, and changes at the economic, social and political levels. Future qualitative and quantitative analyses on the returns of health investments, the political context and institutional arrangements at the country level could help deepen the understanding of the ways in which various countries, with their unique conditions, can improve MCH.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABORTIONACCESS TO EDUCATIONACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICESADOLESCENT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHADOLESCENTSAGEDBASIC EDUCATIONBEHAVIOR CHANGEBEHAVIOUR CHANGEBIRTH ATTENDANTSBIRTH RATESCARE FOR CHILDRENCENSUSESCHILD HEALTHCHILD HEALTH SERVICESCHILD MORTALITYCHILD SURVIVALCHILDBEARINGCHILDBIRTHCHILDHOOD DISEASESCLINICSCOMMUNICABLE DISEASESCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY HEALTHCONTRACEPTIONCONTRACEPTIVE CHOICESCONTRACEPTIVE PREVALENCECONTRACEPTIVE USEDECISION MAKINGDELIVERY CAREDELIVERY OF FAMILY PLANNINGDEMAND FOR SERVICESDEPENDENCY RATIODIPHTHERIAECONOMIC GROWTHEDUCATED WOMENEDUCATION FOR GIRLSEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEMPOWERING WOMENEQUAL OPPORTUNITIESEQUAL OPPORTUNITYESSENTIAL HEALTH SERVICESETHNIC GROUPSFAMILIESFAMILY PLANNINGFAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMFAMILY PLANNING SERVICESFEMALE CIRCUMCISIONFEMALE EDUCATIONFEMALE LITERACYGENDER INEQUALITYGENDER PARITYGENDER PARITY INDEXGLOBAL HEALTHGROSS NATIONAL INCOMEHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE SERVICESHEALTH CENTERSHEALTH EDUCATIONHEALTH FACILITIESHEALTH FOR ALLHEALTH INFRASTRUCTUREHEALTH INSURANCEHEALTH INTERVENTIONSHEALTH MANAGEMENTHEALTH OUTCOMESHEALTH POLICYHEALTH SECTORHEALTH SYSTEMHEALTH SYSTEMSHEALTH WORKERSHEALTHY MOTHERHEPATITIS BHIVHOME VISITSHOSPITALSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RIGHTSHYGIENEILLNESSILLNESSESIMMUNIZATIONIMMUNIZATIONSINDIGENOUS POPULATIONSINEQUITIESINFANTINFANT HEALTHINFANT MORTALITYINFERTILITYINFLUENZAINFORMATION SYSTEMINFORMATION SYSTEMSINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATIONINVESTMENTS IN EDUCATIONIRONLABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLAWSLEADING CAUSESLIVE BIRTHSLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMALARIAMANDATESMATERNAL DEATHMATERNAL DEATHSMATERNAL HEALTHMATERNAL MORTALITYMATERNAL MORTALITY DATAMATERNAL MORTALITY RATIOMEASLESMEASLES IMMUNIZATIONMEDICAL STAFFMIDWIVESMIGRATIONMILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALSMINISTRIES OF HEALTHMINISTRY OF HEALTHMOBILE CLINICSMORBIDITYMORTALITYMORTALITY RATEMOTHERMOTHER TO CHILDMOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSIONMULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONSNATIONAL HEALTH POLICYNATIONAL PLANNATIONAL POPULATIONNATIONAL POPULATION POLICYNEO-NATAL MORTALITYNEONATAL MORTALITYNEWBORNNEWBORN CARENEWBORN HEALTHNUTRITIONNUTRITIONAL STATUSNUTRITIONAL STATUS OF WOMENPLAN OF ACTIONPOLIOPOLIOMYELITISPOLITICAL CLIMATEPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENTPOPULATION CONCERNSPOPULATION DENSITYPOPULATION GROWTHPOPULATION ISSUESPOST-ABORTIONPOST-ABORTION CAREPOSTNATAL CAREPREGNANCYPREGNANT WOMENPRENATAL CAREPRIMARY HEALTH CAREPRIMARY SCHOOLINGPROGRESSPROMOTING GENDER EQUALITYPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC HEALTH SERVICESQUALITY OF CAREREDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITYREGIONAL STRATEGIESREPRODUCTIVE HEALTHREPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CAREREPRODUCTIVE HEALTH POLICYREPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROGRAMRESEARCH INSTITUTIONSRIGHT TO HEALTH CARERURAL AREASRURAL POPULATIONSRURAL WOMENSAFE MOTHERHOODSCHOOL CHILDRENSCHOOL HEALTHSCREENINGSECONDARY ENROLMENTSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVIDERSSERVICE PROVISIONSERVICES FOR ADOLESCENTSSERVICES TO WOMENSEXSEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONSSKILLED BIRTH ATTENDANCESKILLED BIRTH ATTENDANTSSMALLER FAMILIESSOCIAL CHANGESOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL NORMSSOCIAL SECTORSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIOECONOMIC FACTORSTERTIARY LEVELTETANUSTRADITIONAL PRACTICESTRANSPORTATIONUNEMPLOYMENTUNFPAUNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUNDUNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATIONUNPLANNED PREGNANCIESURBAN POPULATIONSUSER FEESVACCINATIONVIOLENCEVULNERABLE POPULATIONSWHOOPING COUGHWOMANWOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGEWORKERSWORKING-AGE POPULATIONWORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION10.1596/20757