Lessons for mother and child health research, policy and action in the 21st century

Abstract

feasibility of evidence-based policy in different countries. What are the cost-effective interventions for MCH? Which are being used and which are left on the shelf-and why? Moving towards the root causes of ill-health We now know more about the relationship between poverty and health. In particular, we know about the relationship between income inequality and health. This is important for all countries because it illustrates that relative, as well as absolute, poverty matters for health. We know that good income, education, physical environment and social relations (social capital see Harpham et al. 2) are associated with good health. But how often do we see arguments for investments in these sectors linked to health? The last century saw failure in inter-sectoral action for health (see for example Harpham et al. 3). While we need to avoid the rhetoric that accompanied those earlier attempts, we must capitalize upon the wider resourced which are available for improving health. Let us move out of our sectoral boxes-and train younger colleagues to be better at inter-disciplinary work. We also need international champions to highlight the role of poverty in health. In the 1970s and 1980s United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was successful in the promotion of MCH. In the last ten years it seems to have lost its voice and vision. Similarly, the heady days of World Health Organization (WHO) leading the global move towards primary health care are long since gone. We now have an agency which focuses on single topic issues and ap