Sustained global and regional efforts are being made to support countries to accelerate progress, including the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, and the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa.4–7 As part of these initiatives, much work has been done to calculate where additional investment is needed to improve health systems and service delivery in low-income countries.8,9 Our analysis builds on this work, with particular focus on the substantial social and economic benefits that can accrue when a country invests in the health of its women and children.