From Outpost to Health Post

Quality and infrastructure upgrades improve maternal and child health in Sierra Leone This blog was originally published by USAID MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership program.  The day after giving birth to a healthy baby, Fatima and her newborn returned to the Maternal and Child Health Post in Thompson Bay, an...

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Learnings from the Government of India ‘Dakshata’ initiative to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care

In 2015, the Government of India launched ‘Dakshata’, meaning adroitness, across the country, to reduce the maternal mortality ratio and stillbirth rate. The initiative aimed to strengthen the quality of care (QoC) during and immediately after childbirth through focused and customized trainings for strategic skill-building of providers on high-impact essential...

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Midwifery is a vital solution—What is holding back global progress?

Introduction We need look no further than midwifery for compelling evidence of gender inequalities blocking progress in global health. Despite growing evidence of the extensive impact of midwifery,1-6 midwives and the women they care for are disempowered by patriarchal structures and professional, socio‐cultural, and economic barriers.7, 8 Widespread misunderstanding of the role and...

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Indonesia’s lessons in using innovative approaches to improving the quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care services in hospitals and health centers

“Every death counts. The death of a mother or a newborn is not just a tragedy for the family but also an indicator of an egregious failure of the health system, especially because many of these tragic deaths are preventable.”     (Saifuddin Ahmed and Judith Fullerton in the editorial of...

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Placing Women at the Center of Lifesaving Innovation Designs

In Nepal, the smallest of babies struggle to live. Born too soon and weighing less than 2500 gm, they are among the 80 percent of newborns who die within a week. Some die sooner. Prematurity accounts for a third of newborn deaths in Nepal. In Nepal, newborn mortality, over the...

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