The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is heavily invested in ensuring that all women and children have the same chance of a healthy life, regardless of where they are born.
Focusing on 25 priority countries that together account for over two-thirds of maternal and child deaths worldwide, USAID’s maternal and child survival efforts, which include voluntary family planning, have helped save the lives of more than 9.3 million children and 340,000 women over the past decade.
USAID does not go it alone, but works with partners at the community level and at every level of government, as well as with international organizations and non-governmental organizations. USAID acts as a catalyst for new ideas, and works with partners to assure that women and children have access to high-quality health care and basic interventions that can save, and have saved, millions of lives.
To that end, USAID recently introduced MOMENTUM, a suite of awards that together can provide a comprehensive, flexible package of financing and technical assistance to help partner countries build capacity to plan, finance, and implement solutions to their own health challenges, and ensure that there is commitment to see these solutions through effectively, inclusively, and with accountability.
In late December, USAID announced two new MOMENTUM global health awards meant to accelerate reductions in maternal, newborn, and child mortality and morbidity.
The first of these, MOMENTUM 2A, is a five-year award of up to $100 million that will support countries’ Journeys to Self-Reliance by providing targeted technical assistance and capacity development to USAID's Missions, partner governments, and local organizations. As well, it will help contribute to global technical leadership and policy dialogue on improving measurable outcomes for maternal, reproductive, newborn, and child health and voluntary family planning.
Momentum 2C is a five-year award of up to $30 million that focuses on monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, and the translation of learning across all MOMENTUM projects, in an effort to evaluate and communicate the impact of USAID's investments on maternal, newborn, reproductive, and child health and voluntary family planning at the global and country levels.
Through MOMENTUM, USAID will provide countries the support they need as they move towards self-reliance for health.
Surviving childbirth and early childhood should not be a matter of luck, where you live, or how much money you have. Together with partners, USAID is working to make that a reality.
