Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) occupy a unique position in global discussions surrounding women’s empowerment and maternal and child health. First, the framing of these issues in these settings has frequently been driven by global agendas rather than emerging strictly from local contexts. Second, current data indicates that LMICs continue to face some of the most critical challenges worldwide in these domains.

According to the 2023 UN Women and UNDP report, women’s empowerment ranges from 43.2% of its potential in countries with low human development to 73.4% in countries with very high development. In many LMIC regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa, where the Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) stands at just 49.9%, as well as parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, empowerment outcomes remain well below their potential. Africa, in particular, represents a region of special focus for this Research Topic, given its acute concentration of gender inequality, high maternal and under-five mortality, and deep structural constraints that cut across sub-regions. Despite persistently poor maternal and child health outcomes, the literature has documented some progress over recent decades, particularly regarding maternal and under-five mortality rates. Nevertheless, substantial efforts are still required to enhance health outcomes and promote female empowerment.

Recognizing this ongoing need, international focus has been sustained through key milestones, including the 1995 Beijing Conference, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This raises a critical question: Why does women’s empowerment persistently lag behind? What are the limitations of current approaches? And what are the implications for maternal and child health? Furthermore, what new paradigms and actionable interventions are required to alter this trajectory? This inquiry forms the core focus of this Research Topic.

Existing research at the intersection of women’s empowerment and maternal and child health has developed along distinct trajectories. The biomedical literature frequently emphasizes quantitative associations between empowerment and maternal and child health, identification of barriers to maternal and child health as related to women’s empowerment including healthcare accessibility, structural constraints, and health literacy or beliefs. Conversely, scholarship in the social sciences tends to evaluate project or intervention effectiveness through the lenses of women’s lived experiences, structural gender dynamics (particularly decision-making power) social capital, resource allocation, and entrenched cultural norms and stereotypes. They critically assess the mechanisms and policies driving empowerment, alongside the deployment of health interventions targeting mothers and children.

Across both biomedical and social science disciplines, there is significant scope for an in-depth understanding of the structural barriers and bottlenecks hindering women’s empowerment. Such insight is crucial for fostering integrated, locally driven approaches that are genuinely transformative, actively addressing the root structural and systemic causes.

Building upon these interdisciplinary foundations, this Research Topic aims to curate articles that offer critical perspectives on women’s empowerment for maternal and child health across LMICs. Although research from all LMIC regions is welcomed and encouraged, we give particular emphasis to studies from Africa, where evidence gaps and health burdens are especially concentrated. We are particularly interested in studies that critically examine the institutions, structural dynamics, and on-the-ground practices surrounding empowerment initiatives. We welcome submissions focused on a single country or region, as well as comparative and cross-regional analyses.

We welcome original research, reviews, and critical commentaries that:
• Critically examine the discourses and practices of women’s empowerment within public health projects and programs, particularly those backed by global funding. This includes assessing their true local anchoring, the internal and external logics driving them, their tangible outcomes, and any associated unintended consequences.
• Analyze broader systemic gender issues as they intersect with women’s empowerment, health policies, and maternal and child health outcomes.
• Investigate the pathways and implications of women’s empowerment across core domains of maternal and child health (e.g., reproductive health, childhood immunization, mental health, or nutrition).
• Describe and evaluate integrated, innovative, locally-driven approaches to women’s empowerment and their synergistic effects on maternal and child health.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Women’s Empowerment for Maternal and Child Health in Africa and Across LMICs: Critical Perspectives and Future Directions