20-22 February, 2018
Entebbe, Uganda
The Maternal Health Task Force/Women and Health Initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Makerere University Center of Excellence for Maternal Newborn and Child Health launched the Maternal Health Academic Consortium with a vision of creating a forum to: identify research and educational priorities, find opportunities for collaboration among academic institutions and increase the capacity of a new generation of maternal health researchers worldwide.
The meeting objectives were to:
- Foster collaboration between junior, mid-career and senior maternal health researchers
- Promote the growth of a new generation of maternal health researchers through the identification of mentorship mechanisms and training opportunities
- Identify research gaps and priorities for conducting rigorous and collaborative research
- Build strategic partnerships to grow a collegial network on maternal health research
The meeting was attended by 49 participants including junior, mid-career and senior level maternal health researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America with varied experiences and vast expertise in a number of disciplines within the maternal health field. The meeting provided an open forum for discussion and sharing of personal and professional experiences related to mentorship, training, research and partnerships. The format included a mix of panel presentations, personal reflections, small group work and large group discussions. All participants shared their commitments to formalize the consortium and to contribute to short- and long-term activities and outputs.