Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health

PMNCH plays a central role in facilitating joint action on many fronts, mainly progress towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, as tracked by the Countdown to 2015 initiative, and through support for the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health (Global Strategy) and Every Woman Every Child. PMNCH enables members to share strategies, align objectives and resources, and collectively agree on policy interventions.[1]

PMNCH's work and support to partners is focused on three key Strategic Objectives:

1. Promotion of knowledge and innovation for action in order to enhance policy, service delivery and financing mechanisms.
2. Advocacy to mobilize and consolidate resources and greater engagement towards RMNCH.
3. Promotion of accountability for resources and results in order to strengthen monitoring of RMNCH's efforts.

PMNCH issues annual reports on progress of commitments from more than 250 stakeholders and estimates that the Global Strategy has leveraged over US$18 billion in new and additional money for women's and children's health.[2]

PMNCH works with more than 650 members in the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) communities across seven constituencies:

1. Academic research and teaching institutions
2. Donors and foundations
3. Health-care professionals
4. Multilateral agencies
5. Non-governmental organizations
6. Partner countries
7. The private sector

PMNCH was launched in September 2005 when the world's three leading maternal, newborn and child health alliances joined forces under the new name of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health. 80 original members joined together from the three organizations, which included: the Partnership for Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health, hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva; the Healthy Newborn Partnership, based at Save the Children USA; and the Child Survival Partnership, hosted by UNICEF in New York. All three partnerships focused on accelerating action by countries—both donor and developing countries—to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 (reduce child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health).[3]

The board is chaired by Graça Machel and co-chaired by Shri C.K. Mishra (Indian Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change), Flavia Bustreo (former Assistant Director-General for Family, Women's and Children's Health) and the World Health Organization.[5] As of July 2014, the following bodies are represented on the PMNCH board:

• Independent Accountability Panel

• The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health website