Agenda

Second Annual Workshop of MotherNewBorNet
 
9 to 11 July 2006 | Taj Mahal Hotel | Delhi, India
 

Global commitment for reducing maternal and child mortality has been reaffirmed by the governments through the Millennium Declaration in September 2000. Emanating from the Millennium Declaration, commitment to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) united countries around the world in the fight against poverty, illiteracy, gender discrimination, maternal and child mortality, infectious diseases (e.g. AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria), and environmental degradation. The targets for MDG 4 and MDG 5 are to reduce under-five mortality by two thirds and the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990-2015. As most of the mothers and children in developing countries die at the community level and neonatal deaths account for 54 percent of all infant deaths, there is an urgent need to scale up evidence-based interventions to prevent maternal and newborn deaths in the community.   
 
USAID’s (United States Agency for International Development) BASICS (Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival) project, and GRA/ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research are jointly hosting the second annual workshop of the MotherNewBorNet. The overall aim is to move research into practice to improve maternal and neonatal health at the community level and to support achievement of MDG 4 and 5 in the Asia and Near East region.
 
The meeting will provide the participants with opportunities to learn about state-of-the-art interventions and research, explore and share innovative approaches to maternal and newborn health, discuss challenges for scaling up evidence-based interventions to address maternal and newborn deaths in the community, debate on different approaches, decide on scaling up maternal and newborn health interventions in the community, plan for concerted actions, and build collaboration or partnership with organizations from different countries. Participants will also reflect on how they will apply new learning to their own settings and developing specific action plans to contribute to the reduction of maternal and newborn death in the region. The meeting will bring leading clinical experts, researchers, and program managers from different countries to speak during theme-specific sessions.
 
Objectives for the meeting

1. Provide technical update on research and programs for the health and survival of mothers and newborns
2. Identify gaps in research, program, policy and advocacy to address maternal and newborn health as a dyad
3. Develop plans for incorporating community based interventions to prevent and manage maternal and newborn infections, manage low birth-weight babies, prevent postpartum hemorrhage, and promote birth spacing interventions at scale
4. Review and identify common indicators for community based postpartum care programs
5. Review progress of the MotherNewBorNet, determine collaboration/partnership opportunities among the members of the network, build consensus on the future directions of MotherNewBorNet, and identify key roles and responsibilities

Key themes for the meeting

A. Prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage
B. Prevention and management of maternal and newborn infections
C. Management of low birth weight
D. Birth spacing to reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality
E. Minimum package of interventions and common indicators for maternal and newborn health