Provides basic guidance on the monitoring and evaluation needs for the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

This monitoring framework provides basic guidance on the monitoring and evaluation needs for the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health – however with broader applicability. With diverse stakeholders in the network, the framework attempts to balance the monitoring needs across unique network countries and data users at multiple levels of the health system, from facility, district, national to global.

The framework articulates conceptual guidance for review by stakeholders rather than prescriptive instructions. Each country has an existing data and monitoring system and its monitoring needs will vary depending on the country context. The framework builds on the WHO maternal and newborn quality standards and measures, and also on complementary monitoring frameworks, indicators and measurement methods.

The monitoring framework outlines four key components that can be adapted and integrated into existing country health information and monitoring systems: 1. Quality improvement measures (for health facilities): to support rapid improvements in quality of care (QoC) led by facility quality improvement (QI) teams and supported by district/regional (or other sub-national administrative and managerial unit) managers; 2. District/regional performance measures: to support district and regional managerial and leadership functions in support of improving and sustaining quality care in facilities.; 3. Implementation milestones: to track implementation steps and progress against strategic objectives in line with implementation guidance; and, 4. Common Indicators: to provide a common set of standardized indicators for monitoring in all participating facilities in network countries and to facilitate shared learning within and across countries.