Maternal and child health services in the twenty-first century: critical issues, challenges, and opportunities

Poor women, their children, and families use public-funded maternal and child health (MCH) services worldwide. However, with the decline in public-funded health services and the growing role of private-financed systems, poor women and their children are at risk of falling through the cracks of business-driven health systems. This article is an overview of (a) critical MCH global health and non-health issues, and (b) 10 MCH challenges in the twenty-first century. MCH advocates can turn these challenges into unique opportunities for MCH clients by developing public/private partnerships at local, state, national, and international levels that will assure the provision of basic clinical and public health services in either public- or private-financed health systems.