Kirsten Gagnaire is the Global Partnership Director of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA). IDEA/Mobile Solutions is an office at USAID that champions the use of mobile technology for development issues. Mobile Solutions provides support to mobile technology initiatives implemented by USAID pillar bureaus, such as mAgriculture and mHealth. One of the most prominent [...]
As published on HNN USAID is proud to be a partner of this research and is already supporting the first national scale-up of chlorhexidine in Nepal. Exciting new evidence has bolstered our fight against one of the top three causes of newborn deaths around the world. Each year approximately 1 million newborn babies lose their [...]
Aishan weighed only 1kg when she was born. Narmina’s delivery was a special case, requiring an emergency Cesarean section. Aishan was born premature and required critical care to help her breathe and intravenous feeding to support her growth. Thanks to the quick thinking of the skilled staff at the Azerbaijan Republican Perinatal Center, both mom [...]
When I started midwifery training decades ago in the United States, in the hospital where I worked, I first saw evidence of disrespect and abuse of women in labor. Women were separated from families and visitors from admission to discharge four days later and, in the second and third stages of labor, their legs were [...]
Weekly Briefing (12/12/2011 – 12/16/2011) December 9: Last Friday, the Global Post highlighted USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah’s visit to Harvard University. On December 12th, The Guardian’s Global Health Blog also published a post about his trip to Cambridge. Speaking at a dinner, hosted by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Dr. Shah recalled his visit to refugee camps in Kenya and the struggle families are [...]
Amanda Makulec is a Monitoring and Evaluation Associate, John Snow Inc. In a time of international economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever for donor agencies to ensure global health dollars are being spent wisely for maximum health impact. Investing in maternal and reproductive health programs around the world has supported a one-third reduction [...]
This blog was originally posted by Lily Kak on January 6, 2011. It is excerpted and updated here in honor of USAID’s Public-Private Partnership Week, Oct.17-21, 2011. Sixty seconds – that is all it takes to breathe life into a newborn that is gasping for air. This is the golden minute that can mean the difference [...]
As we headed out for a health-focused field trip in Timor-Leste’s central highlands, we were treated to almost all the geographical delights of the country. Along the coast road, the dry season winds were whipping up the sea into the biggest waves I’d seen since I arrived in Timor-Leste. As we turned inland, the brown [...]
The average Guinean woman will have six children during her lifetime, but due to the lack of obstetric care, many develop fistula, a painful injury that is especially traumatic due to the stigma associated with it. During obstructed labor, a baby’s head may be pressed against his mother’s pelvic bone, cutting off circulation to tissue [...]
Last night, the Saving Lives at Birth partnership announced three award nominations for transition-to-scale grants that have the potential to save the lives of mothers and newborns in rural areas of the developing world at the time of birth. We couldn’t be more excited about the announcement. The award nominees – a mobile technology initiative [...]
