This webinar shared lessons learned at the district and sub-district level in Bangladesh to advance community engagement in sustaining and improving maternal and newborn health services.

Welcome and Introduction: Olive Cocoman, WHO Geneva

Part 1:  Community Engagement in USAID's MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project - Dr Jatan Bhowmick & Dr Priyanka Chowdhury

Part 2:  Questions & Answers - Facilitated by Julianne Birungi, Communication for Development Specialist, UNICEF New York

This webinar was co-hosted by the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and the Quality of Care subgroup of the Child Health Task Force.

Thursday 23 September 2021

This webinar launched the Thematic Brief Nurturing care for every newborn and shared examples of practical actions to create and strengthen nurturing environments for newborns, including those born too soon, small or sick.

What happens during early childhood lays the foundation for a lifetime. Evidence has demonstrated clearly that the first hours, days and weeks after birth - the newborn period - are a precious time for a child’s survival, health and development. Knowledge and tools are available to provide every newborn with nurturing care that involves parents and other caregivers directly. To create the enabling environment for providing developmentally supportive care, there is a need to invest in policies, health systems and community awareness. As more newborns survive, we now need to make sure that they also can thrive. This is especially important for small and sick babies who are at greater risk of mortality, illness or disability when deprived from quality care.

Welcome: Olive Cocoman (Quality of Care Network Secretariat)

Part 1: What is nurturing care for every newborn

• Introduction to the Thematic Brief:  Ornella Lincetto and Bernadette Daelmans (WHO)
• Infant and family centered developmental care explained: Louise Tina Day (LSHTM)
• A parent perspective: Silke Mader (EFCNI)

Part 2: Creating nurturing environments for newborns

Facilitated by Bernadette Daelmans, Unit Head Child Health and Development, World Health Organization

• India: Influencing national policy and standards - Prof Arti Maria
• Lebanon: Care for child development in newborn services - Dr Lama Charafeddine
• Sweden: Making NICU’s infant and family-friendly - Ylva Thernström Blomqvist
• The Philippines: Integrating developmentally supportive newborn care in the national health benefit package - Dr Socorro De Leon- Mendoza
• Colombia: Sustaining kangaroo mother care during COVID-19 - Dr Nathalie Charpak

Part 3: Questions and Answers

Facilitated by Sheila Manji, ECD Specialist Child Health and Development, World Health Organization

Part 4: Reflections from partners

Facilitated by Shekufeh Zonji, Global Technical Lead, ECD Action Network

• Lily Kak (USAID)
• Prof Joy Lawn (LSHTM)
• Alison Morgan (Global Financing Facility)
• Neena Khadka (USAID Momentum)

Closing remarks:

Facilitated by Bernadette Daelmans

• Tedbabe Hailegebriel (UNICEF)
• Anshu Banerjee (WHO)

This webinar was organized by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, in collaboration with the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, the Quality of Care subgroup of the Child Health Task Force, and the ECD Action Network.

This webinar launched the 'Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response: Materials to support implementation'. It was hosted by the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing (MCA), WHO and by the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in collaboration with UNICEF and the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) Technical Working Group.

The new materials for healthcare professionals, facility managers and policy makers were presented and country experiences were shared on how the new resources can be used to strengthen MPDSR implementation.

• Côte d'Ivoire presented their experience of the pilot testing of the new materials, giving insights on how details on maternal and perinatal deaths were better captured using the new materials and improving MPDSR implementation especially in establishing the review committee and monitoring of suggested recommendations;
• The Ministries of Health from Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka, academia in Zimbabwe, professional associations and further stakeholders shared their plans to use the new materials to strengthen MPDSR implementation.

Session plan:

14h00: The essential need for robust MPDSR systems - Dr Anshu Banerjee, WHO Geneva

14h10: Introductory remarks - Susan Clapham, FCDO, UK

14h15: MPDSR materials to support implementation: What's new? - Dr Allisyn Moran, WHO Geneva

14h25: Côte d'Ivoire's experience in strengthening MPDSR - Dr Didier Eric N'Dri, WHO CO, Côte d'Ivoire

14h45: Questions & Answers - Facilitated by Dr Tedbabe Degefie Hailegebriel, UNICEF

14h55: Country panel - Using the MPDSR Materials to support implementation - Facilitated by Dr Willibald Zeck, UNFPA

Panel:

• Dr Kapila Jayaratne, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka 
• Dr Moussa Dadjoari, Ministry of Health, Burkina Faso,  
• Professor Stephen Munjanja, University of Zimbabwe, 
• Professor Ank de Jonge, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) 
• Dr Bremen de Mucio, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)  
• Dr Kusum Thapa, Jhpiego/ MCGL

15h15: Questions & Answers - Facilitated by Dr Willibald Zeck, UNFPA

15h25: Closing - Dr Tedbabe Degefie Hailegebriel, UNICEF

This webinar shared new evidence on Kangaroo Mother Care and the impact of initiating KMC as soon as possible after birth compared with current recommendation of initiating continuous KMC only after clinical stabilization.

Part 1: Presentation

• Dr Rajiv Bahl, Newborn Unit Head & Head of Research, Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing World Health Organization, Geneva

Panel discussion:

• Dr Harish Chellani, Professor of Pediatrics, Safdarjung Hospital and Vardhan Mahavir Medical College, India
• Dr Helga Naburi, Pediatrician, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science, Tanzania
• Dr Gyikua Plange-Rhule, Senior Lecturer, Department of Child Health, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana
• Dr Kondwani Kawaza, Pediatrician & Lecturer, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Malawi
• Dr Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe, Professor of Paediatrics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
• Dr Nils Bergman, Researcher, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Part 2: Questions & Answers

This series is organized by the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and ENAP, with the support of UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

Thursday 8 July 2o21 at 8am EDT, 12pm GMT and 2pm CEST

In 2021 and 2022, the participating countries in the Network for Improving the Quality of Care of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health are hosting National Forums to discuss progress and share examples and experiences of implementing Quality Care for MNCH. The lessons and learning discussed in the national forums will be documented and shared in a series of webinars.

This webinar documented and shared the challenges, practical solutions and lessons learned by Sierra Leone in implementing and scaling up quality of care for MNH. This session provided an opportunity for exchange between policy makers, managers and providers at national level, as well as among Network countries and with broader partners.  

This is the first webinar in the "Network National Forum" series hosted by the Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, with the support of the World Health Organization.