Lives in the Balance: Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

24 May 2023 18:00 – 20:00 CET
Restaurant Vieux-Bois, Avenue de la Paix 12, Geneva, Swizterland

Event recording

Where you live should not determine if you live; however, this remains the case for millions of women and children around the world. Since 2016, global progress has stagnated on maternal deaths. We are now severely off course in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals target for reducing maternal mortality, which is critically undermining women’s rights. Preterm birth is the single largest cause of death for children under five years of age, accounting for nearly 18 per cent of these deaths, and responsible for more than a third of all neonatal deaths (first month of life).

With the release of several key progress reports and data including the Together for Change  (joint ENAP/EPMM progress report) and Born Too Soon: Decade of Change report, and   Child Survival Action: Blueprint for Advocacy and Action. Though the reports shine light on inspiring strides made by countries that can be replicated on a wider scale, one red thread throughout- is the vital need for concerted multi-stakeholder collaboration and cooperation necessary to advance this agenda.

The first biennial International Maternal Newborn Health Conference (IMNHC) earlier this month provided a unique platform to galvanize the momentum necessary to advance progress and commitments on MNCH.

Objective 

Building on the energy from IMNHC, and equipped with the latest evidence and data, this dialogue will provide a platform to discuss and commit to practical actions that all partners must take for every mother, baby and child to not only to survive, but thrive throughout the life course.

Agenda

18:00-19:00 -  High-level dialogue
Moderated by Mercy Juma, East Africa Correspondent, BBC News 

  • Remarks:  Anshu Banerjee, Director, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, WHO
  • Intro video - Opening video Born Too Soon - introduced by Bo Jacobsson, Co-Chair, MNCH workstream, PMNCH; Director, Maternal and Newborn Health, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)  
  • Remarks: Joy Phumaphi, Co-chair, Partner Engagement in Countries Committee, PMNCH; Co-Chair, The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board; Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance 
  • Opening keynote: Shri Gopalakrishnan, Special Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India  
  • Interactive dialogue on solutions:   
    • John Mangwiro, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe
    • Martin Chungong, Secretary-General, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
    • Michele Sumilas, Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning, USAID
    • Priya Prakash, Founder & CEO, HealthSetGo 
    • Naoko Kozuki, Director, Research and Innovation for Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal Health, International Rescue Committee (IRC)
  • Closing remarks:  

19:00-20:00 – Reception