This week, public health advocates gather in London to mark the 20th anniversary of the global safe motherhood initiative, launched in 1987 to reduce the number of mothers who die or suffer injury giving birth. Despite the advocates' work, the initiative has yet to gain the political traction needed for success. Why? This new working paper by CGD visiting fellow Jeremy Shiffman and Stephanie Smith examine why some global health initiatives, such as HIV/AIDS, become policy priorities while others do not. They find that a problem is more likely to garner attention when political leaders express sustained concern, when the organizations they lead enact policies to address the problem; and when appropriate resources are made available.
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