Measuring and mapping policy progress to increase accountability for Women's and Children's Health

Despite considerable global progress, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 3 (promote gender equality and empower women) and 4 (reduce child mortality) are still far from achievement by 2015. Legislation and policies in line with the principles of internationally established human rights are of fundamental importance to improving living conditions for women and children. Currently, there is a lack of quantifiable policy data to assess governments’ approaches and perform comparative analyses to identify gaps and potential for improvement among nations. We analyzed systematically collected data from the World Policy Analysis Center at the University of California, Los Angeles on laws and policies in 193 UN member states that are currently in place to address important areas of women’s and children’s health. For MDG 3, we focus on constitutional provisions relevant to gender equality and empowerment of women. We examine protections of equity and non-discrimination based on gender, including education-, health- and work rights as well as political rights. To assess progress in social policies relevant to MDG 4, we focus on policies relevant to social determinants of healthy infant and child development, including workplace policies before and after childbirth (e.g. parental leave and breastfeeding), policies to meet children’s needs, right to medical care and public health, as well as income support for families. This data provides researchers, policy makers and civil society with a readily accessible global overview of governments’ approaches and thereby constitutes a valuable tool for increasing accountability for social determinants of women’s and children’s health and equity.