Dear WHO,
Thank you for the opportunity to input into the consultation on the Every Newborn Action Plan.
<Organisation name> welcomes this important and landmark work which highlights the importance of
improving newborn health which has often been overlooked by the international community. Millions
of women globally give birth every year. In many countries, including <your country name if
appropriate> women do not yet have the support they need for a safe birth and a healthy newborn.
Whilst recognising the importance of newborn health and survival we want to highlight that the
health of mothers is crucial. Healthy mothers are more likely to have healthy babies. Saving mothers
lives increases newborns’ chances of survival enormously. We encourage this important work to
proceed and also call for the health of mothers to be fully recognised.
<You will want to pick the most appropriate bullet points for your organization and country. There is a
much more detailed list of bullets points in IPPF response letter (http://ippf.org/static/IPPFsresponse-WHO.doc) from which you can choose. Please do add locally relevant information and
data.>
The following are areas where we see potential to improve on this plan:
 We welcome on page one the importance of the continuum of care - highlighting the link
between reproductive, maternal newborn and child health and how this will help accelerate
progress towards MDGs 4 & 5. To fully realize the continuum of care, in Appendix 2, in the
“Postnatal care” section, there should be reference to care for the mother and advice on
access to voluntary family planning, to aid in tackling maternal mortality as birth spacing
saves lives.
 Point 12 would benefit from an explicit reference to the need for “increased access to family
planning” in the final sentence. This is because delaying and spacing births enables women
to bear children in their healthiest years, reducing the risk of maternal mortality, and enables
them to have their desired number of children, as well as healthier babies.
 Points 17 – 20 we strongly support these points.
 On pages 12 and 13 and in Appendix 3 the document would benefit from the inclusion of
indicators including access to high-quality rights-based family planning advice from an early
age and prevention and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections. This would support
point 17 which states “Every pregnancy should be wanted”.
 In point 43 the word “unintended” should be added before the word “pregnancy” in the final
sentence. Similarly in Appendix 2 the word “unintended” should be added ahead of
adolescent pregnancy where it says “prevention of adolescent pregnancy”. Similarly in point
64 the word “teenage” should be deleted as unintended pregnancies are what needs to be
avoided. This is to ensure this global plan is rights based. Reducing maternal and newborn
mortality starts with reducing unintended pregnancies and detecting complications
early. Therefore, it is important to start interventions before a girl/woman gets pregnant to
ensure she has a choice about if and when she wants to have a baby.
 Point 50 we suggest the addition of “and family planning commodities for women” after
“Medicines need to be appropriate for newborns” due to the need for a secure supply of lifesaving family planning commodities that are essential to achieve the goals of this plan.
 Point 64 we suggest the addition of “and family planning” after “of equity of access and
quality of maternal and newborn care”.
 Appendix 1 currently lacks family planning related indicators. The following should be used a)
Unmet need for family planning (indicator 5.6 under current MDG framework b)
Contraceptive prevalence rate (indicator 5.3 under current MDG framework).
 Additional guidance should be supplied with the plan on transparency, accountability and
oversight. This could help with implementation and build social capital and ability for civil
society to hold governments to account.
Only when universal access to family planning is achieved, will women, men and young people have
the ability to make informed decisions about critical aspects of their lives, and participate fully in the
development of individuals, communities and nations. In doing so, an estimated 79,000 maternal
deaths, 1.1 million infant deaths and 54 million unintended pregnancies would be averted. 2 Family
planning is also one of the most cost effective health and development interventions; for every $1
invested in family planning $31 in additional public service and health expenditure is saved 3.
Thank you for considering our feedback and best of luck implementing the plan.
<NAME, Organisation, and contact details>
2
Guttmacher Institute & UNFPA (2012) Adding It Up: Costs and Benefits of Contraceptive Services - Estimates for 2012.
Ki-moon Ban. Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child
Health, 2010; Singh S et al., Adding It Up:
The Costs and Benefits of Investing in Family Planning and Maternal and Newborn Health, Guttmacher Institute and United
Nations Population Fund, 2009. [https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/global-healthinnovation/Public/GHPS_Maternal_Health_Report.pdf]
3