Each year an estimated 2.6 million babies are stillborn. Progress to reduce this large burden has been slow. The 2016 Lancet Ending Preventable Stillbirths series sought to highlight missed opportunities and identify actions for accelerated progress to end preventable stillbirths. The series concluded with a Call to Action. The Call to Action covers three distinct areas – (1) 2030 mortality targets, (2) universal health care coverage targets, and (3) global and national milestones for improving care and outcomes for all mothers and their babies (as specified by the Every Newborn Action Plan) and specifically for women and families affected by stillbirth.
The Global Scorecard has been produced by the Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group (SAWG) to track progress at a global level towards this Call to Action. The SAWG, founded by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in 2016 and co-chaired by the International Stillbirth Alliance and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, is a group of academics, researchers, parents and advocates from diverse organizations including UNICEF, ICM, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, national and global non-governmental organizations, universities and parent organizations. The SAWG mission is to use advocacy for stillbirth prevention and post-stillbirth support.