Tipping the Balance: Tackling unequal access to healthcare to drive progress on child survival

Tipping the Balance provides new evidence showing that children are denied their right to health based on the circumstances they grow up in. Children from poorer backgrounds are disproportionately affected by mortality and malnutrition.

This steep social gradient in access to basic health services leads to a double jeopardy for children: those with the highest mortality or stunting rates are also those who face the lowest access to services. Our analysis also reveals how unequal access to health services is mirrored in service provision and quality of care.

What will it take to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in child survival through enhanced equity? Drawing on recent findings, Save the Children puts forward five general requirements to accelerate progress in child survival for those who are furthest behind.