Every Woman Every Child

Every Woman Every Child
Name	Every Woman Every Child
Founded	2010
Founder	Barack Obama; Ban Ki-moon
Location	New York City, United Nations
Focus	Global health, Maternal health, Child health
Parent organisation	United Nations

Every Woman Every Child is a global movement launched in 2010 to accelerate action on the health of women, children and adolescents. Convened at the United Nations by Ban Ki-moon with advocacy from Hillary Clinton and endorsement by Barack Obama, the initiative coordinates multilateral agencies, philanthropic foundations, national governments and civil society to implement the United Nations Millennium Development Goals successor agendas. It links high-profile actors in international development such as Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Antonio Guterres and institutions including the World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNAIDS.

Background and Origins

The movement emerged from momentum generated by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals reviews, the 2010 United Nations Millennium Summit, and high-level advocacy by leaders like Ban Ki-moon, Hillary Clinton, Gordon Brown, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Major partners present at launch included the World Health Organization, UNICEF, World Bank Group, United Nations Population Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and philanthropic actors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Clinton Foundation. Early policy influence drew on precedent instruments and campaigns including the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, the Every Child Deserves a Future style advocacy, and platforms like the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health, linking with summits such as the United Nations General Assembly high-level meetings and the Global Financing Facility consultations hosted by the World Bank and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Objectives and Initiatives

The stated objectives align with major multilateral agendas: reducing maternal mortality, ending preventable newborn and child deaths, combating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, expanding immunization, improving nutrition and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Initiatives encompass partnerships with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global Financing Facility, and the Stop TB Partnership, as well as collaborations with national ministries such as those of India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh. Programmatic strands reference technologies and platforms associated with UNICEF Supply Division, PATH (organization), Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and research institutions like Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Oxford.

Governance and Partnerships

Governance draws from a multi-stakeholder model bridging the United Nations, philanthropic actors, private sector partners and civil society networks. Key conveners and champions have included Ban Ki-moon, Michelle Bachelet, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and business leaders affiliated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Novartis, and GlaxoSmithKline. The initiative coordinated with multilateral bodies like World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund, UNICEF, World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, and regional entities including the African Union, European Commission, ASEAN, and Pan American Health Organization. Civil society participants include Oxfam International, Amnesty International, CARE International, ActionAid, Plan International, and networks of grassroots advocates from countries such as Pakistan, Sudan, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.

Funding and Resource Mobilization

Resource mobilization combined commitments from national governments, multilateral funds and private donors. Major financiers included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, national development agencies such as USAID, DFID (now part of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), Global Affairs Canada, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, KfW, and foundations including the Wellcome Trust and Rockefeller Foundation. Financial instruments highlighted included the Global Financing Facility, pooled procurement mechanisms partnering with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and innovative financing linked to private sector actors like Mastercard Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Partnerships with corporate actors such as Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis supported commodities and supply chain initiatives alongside technical assistance from WHO and UNICEF.

Impact and Outcomes

Reported outcomes are tracked against indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3 on health. Collaborations contributed to scaled immunization campaigns linked to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and accelerated introductions of vaccines endorsed by WHO and researched at institutions like CDC (United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Emory University and Imperial College London. National-level progress was noted in countries including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Ghana and Nepal through reductions in under-five mortality, increased facility births, expansion of antenatal care and uptake of family planning services championed by advocates such as Melinda Gates and Gordon Brown. Data aggregation and reporting involved partners such as UNICEF and World Bank Group through platforms that align with the Global Burden of Disease analytics curated by teams connected to Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Criticism and Challenges

Critics have questioned accountability, prioritization, and equity, pointing to tensions between vertical, disease-specific programs championed by actors like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and systems-strengthening agendas advocated by WHO and country ministries. Others have raised concerns about dependence on philanthropic funding linked to foundations such as Gates Foundation and corporate partnerships with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, and about alignment with national priorities in contexts like Haiti and Somalia. Operational challenges cited include monitoring and evaluation complexities, fragmentation among multilateral funds like Global Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and variable impact across regions including parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Scholars from institutions such as London School of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School, and University of California, Berkeley have debated governance, legitimacy and sustainability of multi-stakeholder global health initiatives.

Category:International public health organizations