In 2015, United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to continue the momentum of the Millennium Development Goals and address a broader range of development issues. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified target 3.8, universal health coverage, as the key to achieving all other health-related SDGs.1 To that end, the Every Woman Every Child movement developed the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030)2 with the aim of ending all preventable deaths of women, children, and adolescents and ensuring their health and well-being. The strategy provides a framework for countries to achieve the highest attainable standards of health for all women, children, and adolescents to “Survive, Thrive and Transform.”2
Building on the goal of achieving universal health coverage, WHO developed a global strategy for people-centered and integrated health services,3 recommending that countries consciously consider the perspectives of individuals, families, and communities, and respond to their preferences and needs. Furthermore, “WHO envisions a world where every pregnant woman and newborn receives quality care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period,”4 underscoring that the provision of integrated high-quality antenatal care (ANC) services is a critical part of the global agenda of achieving equitable, people-centered universal health coverage.5,6
In November 2016, WHO issued …