Survive and thrive: why supporting maternal, newborn and child health is critical for the UK government’s commitment to children

The government has just made its pledge to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

While this shows welcome commitment to Gavi’s ambition of reaching 500 million children with critical vaccines by 2030, there is more for the government to do to really maximise this investment and support children to survive and thrive.

This Gavi pledge came after the announcement from the government to cut Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI). Analysis published by UNICEF UK in November 2024 found that the last time ODA was cut in 2021, children were disproportionately impacted.

The UK government now has very tough decisions to make around how to prioritise very limited resources.

To avoid the worst impacts of these cuts, the UK’s next chapter in international development must be based on evidence of what has the most impact for communities and countries and recognise the unique contribution the UK can make in certain areas. Recently, UNICEF UK published new analysis of the UK’s impact in supporting global maternal, newborn and child health. This makes it clear that this critical sector must be protected, especially under a 0.3% scenario.

Why maternal, newborn and child health?

Maternal, newborn and child health is the cornerstone of effective international development. Scaling up critical health services that address the full spectrum of health needs that mothers, babies and children have – including immunisation, nutrition and primary healthcare – has saved millions of lives. As a result, the global under-five mortality rate has fallen by 52% since 2000 and the maternal mortality rate by 40%.

But progress for mothers, babies and children around the world is now at risk. If current trends continue, 30 million more under-fives will die before 2030. Data from UNICEF and WHO, released this week, shows that progress towards vaccinating the most vulnerable children in the world is stagnating.

While the UK’s Gavi pledge was an important commitment to child health, the government cannot consider that as ‘job done’.

The critical role of the UK in global maternal, newborn and child health

The new UNICEF UK report, Survive and Thrive: Analysing the crucial role of the UK in global maternal, newborn, and child health, examines the UK’s policy, financing and programmatic work across maternal, newborn and child health over the last decade, with a focus on vaccination, nutrition and primary healthcare.
 
Our analysis shows that the UK has made a unique contribution to these areas through its multilateral influence, bilateral delivery experience and contribution to research.

By prioritising maternal, newborn and child health, and taking a strategic approach that harnesses the UK’s key strengths and learns from previous pitfalls, the UK could: 

• save even more lives in the communities most vulnerable to child and maternal deaths, building on the significant progress already made to protect mothers, babies and children
• leverage the depth and breadth of UK experience, combining these strengths to ensure deeper impact and maximise efficiency, and protect assets which other donors cannot easily replicate
• boost economic gains in the UK and globally, knowing that cost-efficient health interventions pave the way for stronger socioeconomic development in partner countries, and translating UK research and innovation into global impact brings growth back to the UK
• maintain global partnerships and influence through collaborative programmes with key countries and institutions, opening up wider opportunities for cooperation.

Delivering on maternal, newborn and child health as part of the UK’s commitment to children

To stop the most recent ODA cuts disproportionately impacting children, UNICEF UK is calling on the UK government to commit to spending 25% of ODA on children and prioritise spending and programmes that deliver critical services which support children to survive and thrive.

Protecting maternal, newborn and child health must be a central part of the UK’s commitment to children. This is not just because it is a hugely impactful area in terms of the difference made to the lives of mothers, babies and children, and the socio-economic benefits that come with this, but also because the UK has developed unique strengths in this field which cannot be filled by others.

The UK government must take a ‘whole-child’ approach to achieve the deepest impacts from its maternal, newborn and child global health activity. This approach must address the full spectrum of health needs that mothers, babies and children have. Addressing just some issues – for example, immunisation and not nutrition – will leave the communities most in need of support further exposed to risk and undermine any investments made.

If the UK government takes the action that is needed now it can play a key role in supporting mothers, babies and children to truly survive and thrive.