Valuing Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health for Societal Progress - Going beyond the Economic Orthodoxy of Gross Domestic Product.

The economic well-being of societies and their resilience to shocks continue to be dominated by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) despite long-standing recognition of its shortcomings. GDP does not capture the unremunerated work upon which societal well-being depends. We discuss the implications of GDP for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH) and its influences on health, well-being and productivity across the life course and across generations. CONCLUSION.: Taken the current challenges from Covid, climate change and conflict, there is compelling need to redefine economic progress through equitable models and metrics that incorporate short/medium/long-term societal value of activities that improve MNCAH.