Aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Every Woman Every Child Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health, the Quality, Equity and Dignity Initiative is committed to ensure that all women, children and adolescents have equal access to quality, affordable and respectful health care and services, in all settings, with the aim of promoting the values of Quality, Equity and Dignity in both the provision and patient experience of health care. The initiative provides an important platform for advocacy and programming, particularly in its effort to support the Quality of Care Network being led by the WHO and UNICEF, its work to support the development of costed national plans to achieve universal coverage of essential health services for women, children and adolescents and its promotion of respectful care in all settings. This document outlines what is needed for progress, and lays out these top line messages:
- Addressing issues of quality, equity and dignity in healthcare is critical to ensuring the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents.
- As a basic right, increased attention must be given not only to access of healthcare, but also to ensuring quality and respectful care, equitably.
- The time around birth is the most critical period for saving mothers and newborns, and preventing stillbirths, through universal and high-quality healthcare.