Book Description

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, decision-makers in affected countries have acted quickly to address the immediate health effects of the pandemic and to put into place public health and social measures to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19. In order to preserve the gains made in maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health in the last decades and avoid negative impacts due to the pandemic, the global community quickly mobilized to advocate for protecting the health of these populations. Since May 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO), through its headquarters, regional and country office teams, has supported 19 countries in five WHO Regions (see Figure 1) to raise the profile of and commitment to maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and ageing (MNCAAH)b through an Initiative on mitigating the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on MNCAAH services. The goal was to ensure that during the response to COVID-19, actions would be taken to mitigate indirect effects on MNCAAH due to disruptions to service provision and use.