Women and children first

Women and children first! is a phrase rather infamously associated with the sinking Titanic. Although without basis in maritime law, it reflects an ethical imperative to protect those who historically are perceived as the most vulnerable in times of peril, diametrically opposed to the skewed survival-of-the-fittest posture. (Women are of course as fit or fitter than men, but that would take another editorial.) Global commitment to protecting maternal and child health (MCH) is integral to public health, and to sustainable social and economic development as well. The World Bank estimates that the global economic burden of disease could be reduced by up to 30% with optimal implementation of half a dozen cost-effective and affordable public health and clinical services: family planning, antenatal and delivery care, immunization, integrated management of childhood illness and HIV/AIDS prevention. The UN recognized MCH as integral to its Millennium Development Goals. Then last year, the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals post-2015 set specific MCH targets for the world: Goal 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages) includes ending preventable neonatal and under-5 mortality by 2030 and reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to 70 per 100,000 live births (Cuba's was 38.9 in 2013).