A delivery suite with birthing pool in the UK. The UK spends over $3,000 dollars per head on health

A rural health centre in the Central African Republic (CAR). This 15 year old mother-to-be later gave birth by candlelight. The CAR spends only $8 per person per year on health care

Funding gaps are costing lives. Very few developing countries meet the suggested health spending of $54 per person, whereas almost 20 countries spend less than $15 per head. The result of a lack of national funding in many poor countries is that only a minority receive quality health services at a time and place where it is needed. To make sure that all women can have the care to which they have a right, more resources are urgently needed.

According to the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, as of 2015 around an additional $42 billion is urgently needed to cover the direct costs of providing family planning, maternal and newborn health services for people in the 49 poorest countries.

This investment could dramatically improve access to life-saving interventions for millions of the most vulnerable women and children in the 49 poorest countries.