Understanding the landscape of civil society-led accountability mechanisms for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) was needed to inform the strategies and priorities of both the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and to ensure that global and national goals for RMNCH were met. With the support of CIFF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GHV completed a landscape analysis of regional, national, and sub-national RMNCH accountability efforts, with a particular focus on maternal and newborn health, and accountability efforts led by or involving civil society.
Engendering Accountability: Upholding Commitments to Maternal and Newborn Health was created following extensive desk research and a series of in-depth interviews with global, regional, national, and sub-national accountability players. It includes three country case studies (India, Nigeria, and Uganda) that provide a more detailed understanding of the accountability landscape and sample accountability mechanisms that are making an impact on RMNCH policies and outcomes. The report’s analysis and recommendations served as a critical resource for CIFF and the BMGF, as well as many other stakeholders, providing a deeper understanding of what works in accountability and the essential role that civil society plays in ensuring commitments are upheld and policies are implemented. Following this work, GHV engaged in the development of the accountability framework for the new Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health to ensure that early findings from the landscape analysis were incorporated into that framework.
