Fed Event: Nov. 30th, "Expanding Access to Essential Maternal Health Commodities"

Expanding Access to Essential Maternal Health Commodities

Ronald Reagan Building &Int. Trade Ctr.
9:30 am, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington D C 2004, Washington, DC 20004

Speakers:
Dotian Wanogo Ali, Chief Technical Advisor Reproductive Health Supplies, UNFPA Madagascar (Invited)
Melodie Holden, President, Venture Strategies Innovations
Elizabeth Leahy Madsen, Senior Research Associate, Population Action International

moderated by

Julia Bunting, Team Leader of AIDS & Reproductive Health, Department for International Development (DFID); and Coalition Chair, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition

Postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia, and unsafe abortion are some of the leading causes of maternal deaths in developing countries. Maternal health supplies such as oxytocin, misoprostol, manual vacuum aspirators, and magnesium sulfate are crucial tools needed for effective interventions to address these issues. In order to expand access to these maternal health commodities increased research and coordination is needed to improve supply chain mechanisms and health care training.

Julia Bunting, team leader of AIDS & reproductive health at DFID and coalition chair of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, will moderate the discussion and address the feasibility of integrating maternal health supplies into existing family planning supply mechanisms. Melodie Holden, president, Venture Strategies Innovations, will discuss what maternal health supplies are available and share lessons learned for distributing these supplies to trained health care workers. Elizabeth Leahy Madsen, senior research associate, Population Action International, will discuss the access challenges and gaps in supply chain mechanisms. Dotian Wanogo Ali, chief technical advisor of reproductive health supplies, UNFPA, will share experiences and lessons learned for implementation of family planning and maternal health supply chains in Madagascar.

About the Maternal Health Policy Series
The reproductive and maternal health community finds itself at a critical point, drawing increased attention and funding, but still confronting more than 350,000 deaths each year and a high unmet need for family planning. The Policy Dialogue series seeks to galvanize the community by focusing on important issues within the maternal health community.

The Wilson Center̢۪s Global Health Initiative is pleased to present this series with its co-conveners, the Maternal Health Task Force and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and is grateful to USAID̢۪s Bureau for Global Health for further technical assistance.