WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH are conducting an evidence review on what it will take to safeguard and advance the health and well-being of women, newborns, children and adolescents post 2030 and invite you to help answer that question. We are seeking suggestions for priority topics for analytical papers and related outputs – and recommendations of the experts, institutions or partnerships best placed to take them forward. Your input will help shape a shared evidence base for future global discussions and action.
The process is expected to result in several thematic series of articles and other analytical outputs that can provide a foundation for further technical and political discussions. The work will draw primarily on existing evidence, data and experience.
Share a priority topic (deadline: 18 October 2026)
Why your voice matters
The world has made important gains in the health and well-being of women, newborns, children and adolescents. Yet progress has stalled in many areas, and key commitments on mortality and morbidity remain unfulfilled. As 2030 approaches, we face both an urgent unfinished agenda and an increasingly fragmented global geopolitical landscape.
Over the next two years, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH will bring together a broad programme of analytical work on the challenges and opportunities that will define the post-2030 period. Drawing on lessons from previous global and regional strategies, it will examine the megatrends, emerging risks and new possibilities shaping health and well-being. It will consider what interventions work, which policies and political approaches enable progress, and how women, children, adolescents and communities can participate meaningfully in promoting their own health and well-being. This work will help ensure that future discussions are anchored in robust evidence and that the health and well-being of these populations remain a global priority.
Read more in a Comment in The Lancet: Advancing women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health in the post-2030 era
What priorities should we examine?
We welcome suggestions for priority topics from across the full spectrum of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, including sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.
We are particularly interested in topics that:
- identify emerging issues, future risks and opportunities;
- address critical evidence, policy or implementation gaps;
- examine the effectiveness of interventions, policies, strategies and approaches to implementation;
- bring cross-cutting or life-course perspectives to the social, economic, environmental, nutritional, legal, political or commercial determinants of health;
- explore essential health-system enablers, including primary health care, the health workforce, financing, supply systems and digital transformation; or
- develop investment cases, including analyses of the resources required and the potential health, social and economic returns from investing in areas such as mortality reduction, child development, or adolescent health, well-being and education.
What could the analysis involve?
Suggested approaches may include evidence reviews and analytical syntheses; secondary analyses of existing datasets; modelling and scenario analyses; situational or gap analyses; country case studies; synthesis of implementations experience; assessments of successful policy implementation; investment cases; and future monitoring and accountability frameworks.
We welcome ideas that deepen understanding, challenge assumptions, anticipate future challenges and opportunities, asses promising innovations, and point to practical, evidence-informed options.
Please note: This is a call for suggestions for priority topics, not a call for research proposals or grant applications. The planned work will focus primarily on evidence synthesis, analysis of existing data, modelling and case studies. Proposals for clinical trials, new epidemiological studies or other substantial primary data collection are therefore outside the scope of this call. Suggested topics should be framed at approximately the level of the title and focus of an individual analytical paper or article.
Draft analyses are expected to be ready in early 2028, with the final articles and other outputs completed by May 2028. This timetable should be considered when suggesting topics and potential contributors.
Who can contribute?
We welcome input from governments, academia, civil society, professional associations, youth networks and other stakeholders. Consultation will continue throughout the analytical process, including opportunities to help identify contributors and review draft analyses.
When suggesting a potential lead contributor or coordinator, you may nominate yourself, another individual, an institution or an existing partnership. You do not need to be personally available to undertake the proposed work in order to suggest a priority topic.
How to take part?
Complete this online form by 18 October 2026. You will be asked to provide:
- the proposed topic and its primary thematic focus;
- a short justification and an indicative outline of the proposed analysis;
- the names of potential individuals, institutions or partnerships that could lead or coordinate the work – including yourself, if appropriate; and
- basic information about the person making the submission.
Please note: You can make multiple suggestions. Submitting a priority topic does not guarantee that it will be commissioned or that a proposed contributor will be selected. All submissions will be considered by a multi-agency Technical Working Group as part of the broader preparatory process.
Questions?
Please contact Dr Per Ashorn at ashornp@who.int