Follow the Money: Equitably financing child survival

Four years on from the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, child mortality rates continue to fall, yet big inequalities in child survival persist. Deprived and marginalised children are far less likely to have access to basic healthcare services and far more likely to suffer from malnutrition and to die from preventable diseases.

Without a concerted drive to reduce social disparities, child survival targets will not be reached. Decision-makers need to make sure that tackling inequality is front-and-centre of their efforts to finance, track and ultimately achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Follow the Money sets out three equity decisions governments need to make:

• How much public resource should be dedicated to health and nutrition?
• Which services should be prioritised?
• Which beneficiaries should be put first?

Two case studies from Kenya and Indonesia highlight the practical challenges decision-makers face in adopting an equity approach to financing.

This report puts forward recommendations to governments and development partners on how the pledge to Leave No One Behind can be turned into action – and ensure every child has the chance to survive and thrive.