The Lancet has been a key partner in Countdown to 2015 since its very beginning.

In 2003, the Bellagio Lancet Child Survival Series helped raise global awareness of more than 10 million deaths occurring each year in children under age five, mainly from preventable conditions that rarely affect children in wealthy countries. In 2005 a second Lancet series focused on the approximately 4 million annual deaths among newborns. A common theme in these Lancet series was the call for a systematic mechanism to track progress in achieving high, sustainable, and equitable coverage with interventions proven to reduce child mortality. The development of Countdown to 2015 came in response to this call.

In subsequent years, The Lancet has published numerous articles presenting Countdown data and analysis.

In addition, special Lancet series have continued to focus attention on Countdown’s core issues, including maternal survival, child development in low and middle-income countries, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child undernutrition, health systems, preterm birth, and stillbirth. Special issues of The Lancet were also published for the Women Deliver conferences in both 2007 and 2010, highlighting the importance of investing in women’s health.

In combination, Countdown’s Lancet articles and these groundbreaking Lancet series have helped to focus a new level of international attention not only on each of these global health issues but on the overriding importance of the continuum of care.