On March 21st, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released a new strategic approach to improving maternal and child survival, and reflected on the past decade’s progress and achievements. Three Countdown researchers presented at the event: Ties Boerma from the University of Manitoba, Jennifer Requejo from Johns Hopkins University, and Helen Kiarie from the Kenyan Ministry of Health.
The aim of the daylong event was to launch USAID’s new strategy to prevent child and maternal deaths, to take stock of progress made in the past 20 years, and to re-commit to accelerating progress for women and children. Ties Boerma presented trends in coverage of essential health interventions and evidence regarding the sustainability of the improvements made in survival and access to health services. On behalf of the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas, Dr. Requejo highlighted trends in intervention coverage between the wealthiest and poorest women and children in countries with available household survey data as well as variations by ethnic. Dr. Kiarie was also invited to speak on a panel, titled Local Solutions to Using Data for Decision-Making along with Matiko Machagge of Insupply in Tanzania, and Melanie Renshaw of the Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance. Dr. Kiarie described how data has been incorporated into national planning in Kenya through the Countdown country collaboration, as recently detailed in the data uptake series.
Access a recording of the event in both English and French.
Download Dr. Boerma’s presentation
Download Dr. Requejo’s presentation
Learn more about USAID’s strategy for maternal and child survival