Countdown to 2015 tracks coverage levels for health interventions proven to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality, together with data on equity of coverage, health financing, policy and health systems, and other determinants of coverage. It calls on governments and development partners to be accountable, identifies knowledge gaps, and proposes new actions to improve the health of women and children. The Countdown to 2015 country profile, published annually for each of the 75 countries that account for over 95% of all maternal and child deaths, enables countries to track their progress and identify key areas where more progress is needed.
Better maternal and child nutrition is a crucial building block for reducing mortality and improving health, and is a critical priority for sustainable development. Countdown therefore includes key nutrition indicators in its country profiles, and considers them in its global analyses and country case studies. Countdown was a partner in the development of the first Global Nutrition Report, launched in November 2014 at the 2nd International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) in Rome. The Global Nutrition Report highlights progress, identifies gaps, and proposes ways to fill them in order to build commitment, action, and accountability for faster reductions in malnutrition.