PMNCH Partners’ Forum Taking Place Today and Tomorrow in South Africa

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By: Katie Millar, Technical Writer, Women and Health Initiative, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Today and tomorrow up to 800 maternal, newborn, and child health leaders will gather in Johannesburg, South Africa at the 2014 World Health Organization’s (WHO) Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (PMNCH) Partners’ Forum. Given the current environment of determining the post-2015 agenda, this meeting is critical in gathering world leaders to emphasize the importance of protecting and ensuring the health of women and their children around the world.

Since the contextual factors that impact maternal, newborn, and child health are diverse, representatives at the PMNCH Partners’ Forum include public and private sector representatives and experts in health, gender and development, nutrition and education. This diverse group of participants will allow conclusions of the forum to address how diverse sectors can all support supporting and ensuring maternal, newborn, and child health.

The Partners’ Forum will also include the launch of four landmark reports:

  1. Every Newborn Action Plan provides a concrete plan and platform for improving neonatal health and preventing newborn deaths and stillbirths.
  2. Success Factors for Women’s and Children’s Health Report spotlights 10 countries that serve as models for making considerable progress improving maternal and child health, especially for high-need countries.
  3. Countdown to 2015 Report for 2014 is a report that assesses current coverage and equity of coverage of maternal and child health interventions and the financial, policy and health systems factors that determine if proven life-saving interventions are delivered to woman and children.
  4. State of the World’s Midwifery 2014 (Africa focused launch) highlights progress and challenges that 41 Sub-Saharan countries have seen since 2011 in delivering life-saving midwifery services.

Tune into the discussion happening at PMNCH’s Partners’ Forum by going to the #PMNCHLive Hub, #PMNCHLive Daily Delivery sign-up, and #PMNCHLive on twitter.

Are you attending the PMNCH Partners’ Forum? Would you like to share your experience or reaction to the discussions taking place? Please contact Katie Millar on how you can be a guest contributor to the MHTF Blog.