As we approach the New Year, we would like to share with you some highlights from 2010. The MHTF had a very busy year, and these highlights cover only some of the exciting work taking place. We hope you take a few moments to look at photos from the past year. Happy Holidays and see you next year!
Bringing the Community Together
The Global Maternal Health Conference 2010 (GMHC2010) took place in New Delhi, India from August 30th to September 1st at the India Habitat Centre. The MHTF collaborated with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) to co-host the successful conference. Over 700 experts gathered to attend 70 sessions. Many stakeholders also joined the conference remotely via live webcast. The purpose of the conference was to share data and impressions, to learn about progress and innovations, to identify knowledge gaps, and to reach consensus on local, national, and global challenges to improving maternal health.
Nurturing Innovation
This year the MHTF established new links with 8 leading innovators in developing countries where poor maternal health has stymied socio-economic development. These projects range from measuring the economic impact of maternal morbidity and mortality in Sri Lanka to a pilot of systematic community-based verbal autopsies of maternal deaths in Malawi.
Mentoring the Next Generation of MH Experts
MHTF and Ashoka partnered to create the first international program that links committed young professionals with Ashoka’s seasoned social entrepreneurs to improve maternal health in developing countries. 15 Young Champions with new ideas to address maternal health challenges were selected. The Young Champions were introduced at the GHMC2010, where they also received an orientation before departing from the conference to begin their 9-month mentorship. Blogs and vlogs from the projects have provided glimpses into the exciting projects taking place.
Mapping the Maternal Health Landscape
The MHTF conducted a mapping exercise with Women Deliver to map an unprecedented number of organizations around the world which are working to improve maternal health. Over 1,500 organizations are now represented on a Google map housed on our website. Another 500 locations will be mapped by Spring of 2011. We anticipate that this map will become an extremely useful resource for a wide range of individuals in the community.