Five decades of advancing global maternal and newborn health and rights: Milestones and initiatives.

Global efforts have for decades aimed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality through initiatives, declarations, and high-level strategies. This article reviews the evolution of the global maternal and newborn health (MNH) agenda from the 1970s to the present, highlighting key conferences, political commitments, strategies, and advocacy movements that have shaped progress. Landmark events such as the Alma-Ata Declaration, the Safe Motherhood Initiative, the International Conference on Population and Development which reframed MNH within a rights-based approach, the Millennium Development Goals, and later the Sustainable Development Goals laid the groundwork for national and global accountability in MNH. Despite progress, the health of women and newborns remains an unfinished agenda. Evidence suggests that in 2023, approximately one woman died from maternal causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every 2 min, one newborn died every 14 s, and a stillbirth occurred every 17 s. Universal health coverage goals have stalled, with minimal gains in service coverage since 2015 emphasizing the need for urgent, united action and investments in healthcare systems, including training and empowering nurses and midwives. A global campaign was launched through World Health Day 2025 to renew commitment to ending preventable maternal and neonatal deaths. Despite the severe cuts made this year to official assistance for health and development, ongoing political will, financial investment, and societal change are needed more than ever. This moment presents an opportunity to recommit to ensuring that women and newborns not only survive but thrive well beyond 2025.