Next week, we are gathering 60 people from around the world in a retreat-like setting just north of New York City for 2½ days. Our goal is to discuss and debate today’s tough questions in maternal health and to learn from the MHTF’s initiatives over the past 3 years. We’ll be focusing on big questions such as:
- Do we really know what works?
- What steps are needed to ensure routine accountability of donors’ and governments’ efforts to reduce maternal mortality?
- Have we failed to make key decisions to support and implement short/medium term interventions for maternal health vs. long-term systems changes?
- Why did maternal mortality decline and where does responsibility lie for accelerating progress?
The result of our Buzz Meeting may be some solid strategies and action plans. Or the result may be better questions. Either will constitute success for us. As the meeting occurs, we’ll be posting on our blog and Twitter about some of topics of discussion so be sure to stay tuned next week!