WHO Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Indicators
The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with other global stakeholders, places immense priority on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) as a crucial area for achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Monitoring progress in this area is essential to identify gaps, allocate resources effectively, and ultimately end preventable deaths and foster well-being across the lifespan. The RMNCAH indicators are the vital tools used to track this progress.
The RMNCAH Framework: Survive, Thrive, and Transform
The WHO's monitoring and evaluation framework for RMNCAH, which aligns with the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030), organizes its objectives along three axes:
Survive: Ending preventable deaths.
Thrive: Ensuring health and well-being.
Transform: Expanding enabling environments.
The indicators are selected to provide robust, evidence-based data for tracking success in each of these areas, from high-level impact indicators to specific coverage and quality-of-care metrics.
Key Indicator Categories and Examples
The RMNCAH monitoring framework encompasses indicators that span the entire "continuum of care," from pre-pregnancy through adolescence, and address essential interventions and service delivery quality.
1. Survive: Mortality Indicators
These indicators focus on the direct impact of RMNCAH efforts in reducing preventable deaths, aligning closely with SDG targets 3.1 and 3.2.
| RMNCAH Component | Core Indicator | Definition/Focus |
| Maternal Health | Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) | Annual number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. |
| Child Health | Under-5 Mortality Rate | Probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching age five, per 1,000 live births. |
| Newborn Health | Neonatal Mortality Rate | Probability of dying during the first 28 completed days of life, per 1,000 live births. |
| Adolescent Health | Adolescent Mortality Rate | All-cause mortality rate for adolescents (often broken down into 10–14 and 15–19 age groups). |
| Maternal/Newborn | Stillbirth Rate | Number of stillbirths per 1,000 total births. |
2. Thrive: Coverage and Well-being Indicators
This group measures the extent to which essential health services are utilized and tracks key outcomes related to long-term health and development.
| RMNCAH Component | Core Indicator | Definition/Focus |
| Reproductive Health | Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) | Percentage of women (15–49) who are currently using, or whose partner is using, a contraceptive method. |
| Maternal Health | Skilled Attendant at Birth (SBA) | Percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel (doctor, nurse, or midwife). |
| Child Health | Prevalence of Stunting | Percentage of children under 5 years of age whose height-for-age is below two standard deviations of the WHO Child Growth Standards median. |
| Adolescent Health | Adolescent Birth Rate | Number of births per 1,000 women aged 10–14 and 15–19. |
| Essential Services | Antenatal Care (ANC) Coverage | Percentage of women with a live birth who receive a minimum number of ANC visits (e.g., ANC4+ coverage). |
3. Transform: Enabling Environment Indicators
These indicators focus on the broader health systems and policy context necessary to support RMNCAH improvements, promoting equity and accountability.
| RMNCAH Component | Core Indicator | Definition/Focus |
| Health Systems | Availability of Essential Health Commodities | Availability of key commodities for maternal and newborn health (e.g., oxytocin, magnesium sulfate). |
| Financial Protection | Out-of-pocket health expenditure | Household out-of-pocket health expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure or household consumption. |
| Policy/Legislation | Existence of Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies | Availability and implementation of national policies/guidelines on key areas like adolescent sexual and reproductive health or cervical cancer prevention. |
The Importance of High-Quality Data 📊
Effective monitoring of RMNCAH requires high-quality, disaggregated data. WHO emphasizes using multiple sources:
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS): The gold standard for mortality data (e.g., MMR, Under-5 Mortality Rate).
Population-based Surveys: Such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), which provide detailed data on coverage, behavior, and equity.
Health Management Information Systems (HMIS): Routine facility data to track service delivery, inputs, and quality-of-care indicators.
By consistently collecting and analyzing these indicators, countries and the global community can hold themselves accountable to the commitments of the Global Strategy and the SDGs, ensuring that every woman, child, and adolescent not only survives but also thrives and contributes to a transformative future.
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WHO Survive: Mortality Indicators for RMNCAH
The World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030) is built on the vision of a world where every woman, child, and adolescent not only survives but also thrives and transforms the world. The first and most fundamental objective of this strategy is "Survive: End Preventable Deaths."
To monitor progress toward this goal—and, critically, toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for health—WHO and its partners rely on a core set of mortality indicators. These indicators serve as the ultimate measure of success, reflecting the most critical outcomes of healthcare system performance and societal well-being. By tracking them, countries can identify where the burden of death is highest and direct resources to life-saving interventions.
The Core "Survive" Indicators
The "Survive" pillar focuses on key mortality indicators across the life course: maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health. These metrics are essential for global monitoring and national health planning.
| Indicator | Target Population | Definition | SDG Alignment |
| Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) | Women (15–49 years) | The annual number of maternal deaths (deaths of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy) per 100,000 live births. | SDG 3.1 |
| Under-5 Mortality Rate ($U5MR$) | Children | The probability of a child born in a specified year dying before reaching the age of five, expressed per 1,000 live births. | SDG 3.2 |
| Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) | Newborns | The probability of a child dying during the first 28 completed days of life (neonatal period), expressed per 1,000 live births. | SDG 3.2 |
| Stillbirth Rate | Fetus/Newborn | The number of babies born with no signs of life at 28 weeks of gestation or more (or $1000g$ birth weight or more) per 1,000 total births (live births plus stillbirths). | N/A (Globally Monitored) |
| Adolescent Mortality Rate | Adolescents (10–19 years) | The number of deaths among adolescents (usually disaggregated into age 10–14 and 15–19 groups) from all causes, per 100,000 adolescents in that age group. | N/A (Globally Monitored) |
Why These Indicators Matter
The five core mortality indicators are powerful tools for several reasons:
Reflecting Health System Weakness: A high MMR often points to failures in quality of care during labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period. High U5MR and NMR signal insufficient coverage of essential immunizations, newborn care, and treatment for common childhood illnesses like pneumonia and diarrhea.
Driving Accountability: These are the primary metrics used to hold countries and international partners accountable for global commitments. The SDG target for MMR is to reduce it to less than 70 per 100,000 live births globally. For U5MR, the target is to reduce it to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.
Highlighting Inequity: When mortality rates are disaggregated by geography, wealth, or education, they reveal critical inequalities. For example, the vast majority of maternal and neonatal deaths occur in low and lower-middle-income countries, demonstrating an urgent need for equitable access to quality health services.
Informing Strategy: Tracking the causes of death associated with these rates (e.g., hemorrhage and infection for maternal deaths; preterm birth and sepsis for neonatal deaths) helps health ministries prioritize specific interventions, such as ensuring access to uterotonics and comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care.
By consistently measuring and openly reporting on these "Survive" indicators, the global community can track the path towards ending preventable mortality and ensuring a foundational level of health for every individual.
.jpg "WHO Thrive: Coverage and Well-being Indicators for RMNCAH")
WHO Thrive: Coverage and Well-being Indicators for RMNCAH
The second objective of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030) is to "Thrive: Ensure Health and Well-being."
While the "Survive" pillar focuses on ending preventable deaths, the "Thrive" pillar shifts the emphasis to the quality of life, comprehensive well-being, and the coverage of essential, life-enhancing health services. These indicators move beyond just mortality to track development, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health access, and the overall quality of health service delivery, ensuring that women, children, and adolescents reach their full potential.
Key Thrive Indicators: Coverage and Well-being
The core indicators for the "Thrive" objective are often based on intervention coverage—the proportion of people who need an intervention and actually receive it—and critical health outcomes that directly measure well-being. They align with multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to health (SDG 3) and nutrition (SDG 2).
| RMNCAH Component | Core Indicator | Definition/Focus | SDG Alignment |
| Reproductive Health | Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) / Met Need | Percentage of women of reproductive age (15–49) whose need for family planning is satisfied with modern methods (mCPR). | SDG 3.7.1 |
| Maternal Health | Antenatal Care (ANC) Coverage | Percentage of pregnant women with a live birth who receive four or more (ANC4+) Antenatal Care contacts (visits) during pregnancy. | SDG 3.8.1 |
| Newborn/Maternal Care | Skilled Attendant at Birth (SBA) | Percentage of live births attended by skilled health personnel (e.g., doctor, nurse, midwife). | SDG 3.1.2 |
| Child Health | Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTP3) Immunization Coverage | Proportion of infants who received three doses of the DTP vaccine. (A key tracer for the overall Coverage Index of Essential Health Services). | SDG 3.8.1 |
| Child Nutrition | Prevalence of Stunting | Percentage of children under 5 years of age whose height-for-age is below two standard deviations of the WHO Child Growth Standards median. | SDG 2.2.1 |
| Adolescent Health | Adolescent Birth Rate | Number of births per 1,000 women in the age groups of 10–14 and 15–19 years. | SDG 3.7.2 |
| Universal Health Coverage (UHC) | Coverage Index of Essential Health Services | A composite index that includes key RMNCAH, infectious disease, and non-communicable disease interventions. | SDG 3.8.1 |
The Shift from Survival to Quality
Monitoring the "Thrive" indicators signals a critical evolution in global health priorities.
From Volume to Quality: Early monitoring efforts focused heavily on achieving high coverage (e.g., getting a woman to a clinic for delivery). "Thrive" moves to emphasize the quality of that care. For instance, the ANC4+ indicator (four or more visits) encourages sustained, comprehensive care, not just a single point of contact. Furthermore, indicators often track the delivery of key components of care, such as immediate postnatal contact for the newborn, or essential newborn care steps like skin-to-skin contact.
The Life-Course Approach: The inclusion of Contraceptive Prevalence and the Adolescent Birth Rate reflects the recognition that health promotion starts well before pregnancy and extends through adolescence. Addressing unmet family planning needs and early childbearing are fundamental to improving health outcomes for both mothers and children.
Nutrition as Well-being: Stunting is a profound indicator of chronic malnutrition and poor health environments, which affects a child's cognitive development and lifelong productivity. Its inclusion under the "Thrive" umbrella highlights that ensuring healthy lives requires more than preventing acute illness; it requires maximizing potential.
By rigorously tracking these coverage and well-being indicators, the global community can ensure that health systems are not only available but are effective and equitable in helping every individual move beyond survival toward a life of optimal health and development.
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WHO Transform: Enabling Environment Indicators for RMNCAH
The third and most far-reaching objective of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030) is to "Transform: Expand Enabling Environments."
This pillar acknowledges that clinical services (Survive and Thrive) cannot succeed in a vacuum. It targets the fundamental societal and structural determinants of health, including laws, policies, financing, social safety, and education, which empower individuals and strengthen the health system's ability to function. The "Transform" indicators are primarily derived from the broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reflecting a commitment to multisectoral action beyond the traditional health sector.
Key Transform Indicators: Socio-Structural Change
These indicators measure progress in creating the political, legal, financial, and environmental conditions necessary for women, children, and adolescents to realize their full potential for health and well-being.
| Enabling Environment Focus | Core Indicator | Definition/Focus | SDG Alignment |
| Governance & Rights | Birth Registration Coverage | Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority. | SDG 16.9.1 |
| Social Justice | Violence Experienced | Proportion of women, children, and adolescents subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological violence. | SDG 5.2.1, 16.2.3 |
| System Financing | Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure | Household out-of-pocket spending on health as a percentage of total health expenditure (reflects financial protection). | SDG 3.8.2 |
| System Investment | Domestic Health Expenditure | Current country health expenditure per capita (including specifically on RMNCAH) financed from domestic sources. | N/A (Globally Monitored) |
| Policy/Legislation | Access to SRH Laws | Number of countries with laws/regulations that guarantee women aged 15–49 access to sexual and reproductive health care, information, and education. | SDG 5.6.2 |
| Environmental Health | Clean Water and Sanitation | Percentage of the population using safely managed sanitation services, including a hand-washing facility with soap and water. | SDG 6.2.1 |
| Education | School Proficiency | Proportion of children and young people achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics. | SDG 4.1.1 |
The Transformative Impact
The "Transform" pillar forces accountability far beyond the Ministry of Health, implicating Ministries of Finance, Education, Justice, and Environment.
Addressing Poverty and Equity: High Out-of-Pocket Expenditure indicates that households must pay for services directly, often pushing the poorest families into catastrophic debt and preventing them from seeking essential care. Monitoring this drives policy toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Legal Identity and Rights: Birth Registration is the first legal acknowledgment of a child's existence and their right to services, a fundamental step toward guaranteeing legal and political inclusion. The indicator on SRH Laws directly monitors the removal of legal barriers that prevent women from accessing critical health services.
Safety and Environment: Tracking Violence Experienced acknowledges that physical and sexual safety is a prerequisite for health. Similarly, indicators on Clean Water and Sanitation recognize that fundamental determinants like hygiene and clean environments have a greater long-term impact on infectious diseases than any single medical intervention.
By committing to these comprehensive "Transform" indicators, the WHO Global Strategy seeks to create the enabling ecosystem where every woman, child, and adolescent is empowered by their society and institutions to not just survive or merely receive basic care, but to fully flourish.
.jpg "Highest Performing Countries in WHO's RMNCAH")
Highest Performing Countries in WHO's RMNCAH
The World Health Organization (WHO) does not publish a single, overall "Highest Rank Country" for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH). Instead, it uses a Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030), which measures progress across 60 indicators categorized under three core objectives: Survive, Thrive, and Transform.
Ranking performance is complex because countries excel in different areas:
High-income countries (HICs) typically have the lowest mortality rates (Survive).
Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), which bear the highest burden of mortality, are often tracked based on accelerated progress or high coverage of key interventions (e.g., vaccination, skilled birth attendance).
Therefore, performance is best understood by looking at the countries that have achieved the best outcomes against specific, internationally agreed-upon targets, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These best-performing nations are primarily those with mature, well-financed health systems, typically in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia and Oceania.
Top Performers by Key RMNCAH Indicators
The table below highlights the global best performance (or near-best) for a selection of the most critical RMNCAH indicators, illustrating the standard to which all countries aspire.
| RMNCAH Objective | Key Indicator (SDG) | Target (2030) | Global Best Performance (Approximate) | Country Example(s) |
| SURVIVE | Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) (per 100,000 live births) (SDG 3.1.1) | < 70 | < 3 | Iceland, Finland, Norway, Italy |
| SURVIVE | Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) (per 1,000 live births) (SDG 3.2.2) | $\le 12$ | $\le 1.5$ | Japan, Monaco, Singapore |
| SURVIVE | Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) (per 1,000 live births) (SDG 3.2.1) | $\le 25$ | $\le 2.5$ | Luxembourg, Slovenia, Czechia |
| THRIVE | Stunting Prevalence (children under 5) (SDG 2.2.1) | End all forms of malnutrition | < 3% | Canada, Australia, Sweden |
| THRIVE | Adolescent Birth Rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19) (SDG 3.7.2) | Substantially reduce | < 5 | Switzerland, South Korea, Netherlands |
| TRANSFORM | Skilled Birth Attendance (Percentage) (SDG 3.1.2) | 100% | 99% - 100% | Most high-income countries |
Key Takeaways from Top Performers
The countries listed above are consistently among the world's highest-ranked for health outcomes in general. Their success in RMNCAH is attributed to three systemic strengths:
Universal Health Coverage (UHC): Almost all top-performing countries have a system that ensures financial protection (low to zero out-of-pocket expenditure) and access to quality essential services for all citizens, addressing the financial barriers that often lead to maternal and child deaths elsewhere.
High-Quality, Integrated Services: These nations provide a full continuum of care for RMNCAH, including mandatory birth registration, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents, high vaccination coverage, and advanced neonatal intensive care.
Strong Social and Enabling Environments: Low rates of mortality and morbidity are sustained by strong external factors (the Transform objective), such as low poverty, gender equality, universal access to high-quality education, and excellent water/sanitation infrastructure.
In the context of WHO's strategy, while all countries strive to reach the performance levels of the global leaders, the focus is placed heavily on rate of change in low-resource settings. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, while having the highest initial mortality rates, often demonstrate the most rapid percentage decline in RMNCAH indicators, showcasing significant programmatic success and political commitment.
.jpg "Countries with the Lowest Rank in WHO RMNCAH")
Countries with the Lowest Rank in WHO RMNCAH
The World Health Organization (WHO) does not issue a single "lowest rank" for a country's Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) performance. Instead, health progress is measured by assessing performance against key indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).
The lowest-ranked countries are those that face the highest burden of preventable mortality, demonstrating the furthest distance from achieving the SDG 3 targets for maternal and child survival. These nations are predominantly found in Sub-Saharan Africa and often face contexts of fragility, conflict, or severe poverty.
Based on the most critical indicators—Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR)—countries in West and Central Africa consistently rank at the bottom globally.
Lowest Performing Countries by Key RMNCAH Indicators (Approximate)
The table below highlights countries with the worst performance in the world for core RMNCAH mortality indicators, based on recent joint estimates from the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, and UNPD. These figures represent a profound global health emergency.
| RMNCAH Indicator (SDG Target) | Country with the Worst Rate (Approx. 2023) | Rate | Global Average (Approx. 2023) |
| Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) (per 100,000 live births) (SDG 3.1) | Nigeria 🇳🇬 | $\approx 1,000$ | $\approx 220$ |
| Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) (per 1,000 live births) (SDG 3.2) | Nigeria 🇳🇬 or Central African Republic 🇨🇫 | $\approx 110-120$ | $\approx 38$ |
| Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) (per 1,000 live births) (SDG 3.2) | Central African Republic 🇨🇫 / South Sudan 🇸🇸 | $\approx 40$ | $\approx 18$ |
| Proportion of Births Attended by Skilled Personnel (SDG 3.1.2) | Somalia 🇸🇴 or South Sudan 🇸🇸 | $<20\%$ | $\approx 85\%$ |
Note: Due to political instability and data collection challenges, exact rankings can fluctuate slightly between different reports. These numbers are illustrative of the countries facing the most dire RMNCAH challenges.
The Context of Low RMNCAH Performance
The countries with the highest rates of preventable maternal and child deaths share several common, complex challenges that fundamentally undermine their health systems, which are the inverse of the success factors in the highest-ranked nations:
1. Weak Health Systems Infrastructure
The most critical issue is the severe lack of access to quality care. For example, in many of these lowest-ranked countries, the proportion of births attended by a doctor, nurse, or midwife remains critically low, directly leading to high rates of maternal and neonatal deaths. This is compounded by:
Insufficient health workforce: Too few trained doctors, nurses, and midwives.
Stock-outs: Lack of essential medicines, equipment, and supplies (e.g., blood for transfusions, basic resuscitation kits).
Poor quality of care: Even when a facility is reached, the services may be too poor to save lives.
2. Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants
RMNCAH is deeply affected by factors outside the hospital. Countries with the lowest rankings typically have:
Poverty and Hunger: High rates of malnutrition (stunting and wasting) drastically increase the vulnerability of children to common illnesses.
Conflict and Fragility: Prolonged conflicts and political instability damage infrastructure, displace populations, and make healthcare facilities targets, effectively collapsing the health system.
Adolescent Health Crisis: High rates of adolescent pregnancy (aged 15-19) increase the risk of maternal death and poor birth outcomes, creating a continuous cycle of vulnerability.
Achieving the global goals in RMNCAH requires targeted, high-impact investment in these lowest-performing nations, focusing on strengthening primary healthcare and addressing the underlying social and political determinants of health.
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Data Sources for WHO RMNCAH Indicators
The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with other UN agencies, relies on a triangulated approach using multiple data sources to monitor the vast array of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) indicators. This multi-source strategy is necessary because no single system can reliably capture all aspects of health, from mortality rates to service coverage and policy implementation.
The data is used to track progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and the objectives of the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health.
Primary Data Sources for RMNCAH Indicators
RMNCAH indicators fall broadly into two groups: Impact Indicators (measuring health outcomes like mortality) and Coverage Indicators (measuring service delivery and utilization). The sources for these two groups differ significantly.
| Data Source Category | Type of Data Collected | RMNCAH Indicators Monitored | Frequency |
| Household Surveys | Service coverage, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and most mortality rates. | Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR), Skilled Birth Attendance, Exclusive Breastfeeding, Contraceptive Prevalence, Early Childhood Development. | Typically every 3–5 years |
| Routine Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) | Service utilization, resource availability, commodity stock, and facility-based mortality. | Antenatal Care (ANC) visits, Institutional Deliveries, Immunization Coverage (e.g., DTP3), availability of essential medicines (e.g., Oxytocin). | Continuous (Monthly/Quarterly) |
| Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Systems | Definitive demographic and mortality data. | Maternal Death Registration, Birth Registration, Cause-of-Death Statistics, Stillbirth Rate (where functional). | Continuous (Daily/Annually) |
| Policy and Legal Documents | Implementation of health-related laws and policies. | Laws on gender equality, child marriage, access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and RMNCAH budget allocation. | Typically every 3–5 years (via dedicated WHO surveys) |
Key Global Data Collection Systems
The international health community standardizes data collection through specific tools to ensure comparability across countries.
1. Population-Based Surveys (Coverage & Mortality)
For many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with incomplete CRVS systems, population surveys are the most reliable source for calculating mortality rates and service coverage.
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS): Comprehensive, nationally representative household surveys that collect data on fertility, family planning, maternal and child health, nutrition, and mortality.
Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS): Surveys supported by UNICEF that collect internationally comparable data on a wide range of indicators related to the situation of children and women.
2. Facility-Based Monitoring (Quality & Utilization)
These systems focus on data captured at the point of care:
Routine Health Management Information Systems (HMIS): These systems, often built on software like DHIS2, collect continuous data from health facilities. This is crucial for real-time monitoring of service delivery, such as the number of clients receiving postnatal care or routine immunization coverage.
Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR): A continuous system for identifying, notifying, investigating, and reviewing all maternal and perinatal deaths, crucial for understanding and addressing the causes of mortality.
3. Inter-Agency Estimation Groups (The "UN Estimates")
For high-profile indicators like maternal and child mortality, country-reported data (from CRVS or surveys) are often supplemented by modeling and statistical estimation. This is performed by inter-agency groups to account for missing or low-quality data and produce globally comparable trends:
Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG): Comprises WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and UN DESA/Population Division, responsible for producing the official global estimates for the Maternal Mortality Ratio.
UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME): Responsible for producing the official global estimates for the Under-Five Mortality Rate and Neonatal Mortality Rate.
Conclusion: The Imperative of Comprehensive RMNCAH Monitoring
The monitoring of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) indicators is a critical global mechanism, driven primarily by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners. The data, sourced from a complex mix of household surveys (DHS, MICS), routine Health Management Information Systems (HMIS), and vital statistics (CRVS), forms the indispensable backbone of global health accountability.
Key Takeaways from RMNCAH Monitoring
Mortality Gaps Persist: Despite significant global progress, RMNCAH data consistently reveal profound and persistent disparities. Indicators like the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) highlight that the vast majority of preventable deaths are concentrated in low-income, fragile, and conflict-affected countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This underscores the failure to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 targets for equity.
Data Informs the Continuum of Care: RMNCAH monitoring moves beyond simple death counts to track the full continuum of care. Indicators on Skilled Birth Attendance, immunization coverage, and postnatal contact are crucial for identifying specific weaknesses in health system delivery and quality of care, allowing targeted interventions.
Accountability and Action: The use of RMNCAH data is essential for accountability. Global targets translate into national scorecards, enabling governments, donors, and civil society to track resources and outcomes, ensuring that policy decisions are evidence-based and responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable populations.
The CRVS Challenge: The ultimate goal is to rely on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) for complete and timely data. Where CRVS systems are weak, reliance on less frequent, modeled estimates from inter-agency groups (like MMEIG and UN IGME) remains necessary to estimate the true burden of mortality. Strengthening CRVS systems in low-performing countries is therefore the single most vital long-term investment for improving RMNCAH data quality and health systems overall.
In essence, the comprehensive monitoring of RMNCAH indicators is not just a statistical exercise; it is a moral imperative that maps out where human lives are being lost and directs the global effort needed to fulfill the promise of health and well-being for every mother, child, and adolescent worldwide.