Over the last two decades, social accountability has emerged as a strategy to make health services more responsive to community needs. It’s an approach that creates a space for “interaction between citizen engagement and government responsiveness,” said Jonathan Fox, professor of international development at American University at the Wilson Center Despite a nearly 50 percent reduction in global maternal mortality since 1990, gains in maternal health outcomes have been uneven. In developing and developed countries alike, the information, services, and resources that ensure safe pregnancy, delivery, and recovery are too often inaccessible for marginalized women. Social accountability can be used to reach marginalized women and address uneven maternal health outcomes. The idea is to create a safe space for dialogue between health providers and community members to identify problems and promote solutions when the government or private sector’s capacity to respond is limited. When they work, social accountability programs help ensures the rights of all constituents, not just the easiest to reach or the most cost effective. “Respecting, protecting, and fulfilling rights contributes to solid health outcomes,” said John Townsend, vice president and director of the Population Council’s reproductive health program and member of the Family Planning 2020 Initiative. “Rights do lead to results.”

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