Policy & Advocacy
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this 2009 report by Merlin in the UK outlines the link between the health worker crisis in fragile states and high levels of maternal mortality. The campaign, Hands Up for Health Workers, was launched with this report.
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WHO report tracking coverage of evidence-based interventions in 60+ countries accounting for 97% of maternal deaths, 2008
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Women Deliver works to sustain political commitment and investment for MDG5 at global, regional, and national levels to improve maternal and newborn health and ensure universal access to reproductive health.
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is a global movement spanning 140 countries and making women's survival in childbirth a priority.
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put together by IDS has great information on key topics in development policy including women's health.
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Best Practices
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This site links 307 communities in a discussion on 'gold standards' for introduction, utilization and scaling-up of evidence-based practices and/or proven effective practices in reproductive health.
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Pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and newborn care: A guide for essential practice evidence-based recommendations for health workers authored by the World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund, UNICEF, The World Bank.
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This site includes all of the presentations from a key meeting in Ethiopia on 'Task Shifting to non-physician clinicians'. The conference brought together Ministers of Health from across Africa to discuss task-shifting strategies for countries with chronic physician shortages. Also included are links to the key Lancet articles on maternal health from the last couple of years.
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This site aggregates resources on the prevention and treatment of HIV infection in women and children targeted at health workers, program managers, and policy makers in resource-limited settings. It also includes a section on emerging issues.
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For behavior change best practices related to childbirth please see The Maternal Survival Toolkit
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This piece is a chapter or "Knowledge Summary" created by PMNCH and the University of Aberdeen about the importance of essential commodities accessibility in providing high quality maternal and neonatal health.
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This document is designed for an audience of policy-makers who seek information on the specific health interventions to address the main causes of maternal, newborn and child deaths.
It is the result of collaborative work among many partners. The process was led by the World Health Organization, Switzerland, and the Aga Khan University, Pakistan. Experts in maternal, newborn and child health participated in meetings in Geneva in April 2010 and September 2011 and provided inputs to the development and finalization of this document. The contributions of the World Health Organization, the Aga Khan University, invited experts and partners are gratefully acknowledged. This publication, and related advocacy material, will be distributed to over 430 PMNCH partners, and other stakeholders, primarily via the PMNCH website and knowledge portal. In addition, it will be distributed, and discussed, at selected RMNCH advocacy events. -
This site has incredible resources including a Textbook for Postpartum Hemorrhage (including a Turkish version). There is also a wall chart on management of postpartum hemorrhage and a manual on obstetric fistula surgery.
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Science and Development Network
News, views and information about science, technology and the developing world -
A set of guidelines, developed through the WHO Guideline Development standard, specifically (i) the identificationof questions related to clinical practice and health policy for which answers
are needed, (ii) the retrieval of up-to-date research-based evidence, (iii) the assessment
and synthesis of evidence, (iv) the formulation of recommendations using
input from a wide range of stakeholders, and (v) the formulation of plans for the
dissemination, implementation, impact evaluation and updating of the guideline. -
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"The World Health Organization’s recommendations on optimizing the roles of health workers aim to help address critical health workforce shortages that slow down progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)."
Academic Literature
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Reproductive Health Gateway is a search engine covering a selection of scholarly web sites dedicated to reproductive health.
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OneSource is a database run by the Johns Hopkins INFO Project that aggregates POPLINE-- the world's largest database on reproductive health with more than 350,000 citations with abstracts to scientific articles, reports, books, and unpublished reports in the field of population, family planning, and related health issues-- as well as the Health Communication Materials Database - the world's largest collection of health communication materials.
Books and Key Articles
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Going to Scale with Professional Skilled Care article by Koblinsky et al 2006.
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A Book for Midwives by the Hesperian Foundation covers the basics of clinical and psychosocial care for community midwives in low-resource settings.
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Life Saving Skills manuals by American College of Nurse Midwives are a key resource for teaching midwives and ob/gyns in low-resource settings.
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Hesperian allows the creation and customization of free health guides for a variety of health issues.
Hesperian health guides are developed for communities with limited access to health care. To ensure the conditions and concerns of the people who will use them are at the center of the book development process, our materials are field-tested around the world by grassroots community organizations, health providers, clinics, and individuals. By presenting accurate and actionable health information in a simple, heavily illustrated style, Hesperian makes health information accessible to all, even readers with minimal formal education. Hesperian is working to further increase access to our materials through our interactive digital resource center.
Success Stories
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For success stories of 10 countries who have made progress on maternal and child health, this publication by The Partnership for Maternal Child and Newborn Health is succinct and informative.
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Social Design Websites
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Social Design Network's mission is to inspire social activism through design. They connect people who want to explore ways design can positively impact our many worlds, and who want to create change here and now.
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Design without Borders is founded on the belief that design and designers can make a significant contribution towards a better and more sustainable society. The program aims at utilizing the creative and analytical skills of industrial designers to develop solutions that promote long-term development and increases the quality of emergency aid.
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This site began as an exhibit by NYC's Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in 2007. They cover energy, health, agriculture, shelter, transport, education and water. The exhibit, now a live website demonstrates how design can be a dynamic force in saving and transforming lives, at home and around the world.
Films
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Bullfrog Films: Dead Mums Don't Cry
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PBS: A Walk to Beautiful -- film by Mary Olive Smith
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Governess Films: Love, Labor, Loss -- film by Lisa Russell
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Wide Angle: PBS film on training midwives in Mozambique
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UNFPA: When Mother Died the Family Fell Apart
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A short film by Subina Shrestha- a Nepali woman who was five months pregnant at the time she made the film- about birth in Nepal. Covers two births, and shows the barriers to safe motherhood that face women in Nepal, including access to quality care (trained professionals, drugs, clean facilities), the stigma of having girls rather than boys, HIV due to migrant labor, and vitamin deficiencies.
A must watch!
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