Post-COVID economic recovery: women and children first ... or last?

Twenty-first century science underpinned the rapid global response to COVID-19, identifying the causal pathogen, sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome, developing vaccines and initiating clinical trials, within 9 months of first appearance. Although in tackling the immediate consequences of the pandemic countries responded to science in different ways, every nation now grapples with the economic consequences and the question of where to focus investment. Here, we argue that insights from 21st century science can also lead the way to economic recovery. These indicate that there should be a prime focus on healthy populations resilient to unexpected challenges and that this is to a large extent dependent on maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH). Recovery from COVID-19 offers a unique opportunity to target investment on MNCH.

Post-COVID economic recovery will have to take place against the continuing backdrop of the growing population prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that are progressively crippling health...

from Archives of Disease in Childhood current issue https://ift.tt/CesfvBW