Returns on Investment in the Continuum of Care for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health

Authors: Karin Stenberg, Kim Sweeny, Henrik Axelson, Marleen Temmerman, Peter Sheehan

Citation:

Abstract:

The costs and benefits of delivering a set of integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) interventions across the continuum of care in countries with high child and maternal mortality in order to (1) demonstrate that high returns can come from strengthening investments in the delivery of high-impact interventions; and (2) underscore the importance of an accurate assessment of those returns, including the full range of costs involved in delivering integrated care across the continuum and the full range of benefits that flow from the interventions. RMNCH concerns should feature prominently post-2015, for example, in the Sustainable Development Goals that supersede the Millennium Development Goals. The development of models focused more strongly on the morbidity elements of maternal and child health, and the evolution of that morbidity over time, remains an important topic for future research. Further work should also consider nonhealth interventions, including activities affecting social determinants of health.