In 2018, the Lancet Commission on High Quality Health Systems ignited a global shift in focus and investment for maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH).

Increasing access to care had been a primary focus during previous decades, but the Commission found that as service use increased, “poor-quality care” had become a more significant obstacle to reducing mortality than insufficient access. The Commission also argued that increasing access alone would not achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3—ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being. What the world needed now was an intensified focus on improving quality of care.

News about global climate impacts that elevate mortality, wreak weather havoc, and create massive displacement is inescapable. And those are just the stories that make the headlines. Droughts in Africa are estimated to impact 250 million people and displace 700 million more by 2030. Climate impacts brought on by El Niño are devastating the food supply chain, exacerbating Guatemala’s struggle to reduce childhood malnutrition.