World Progress in Maternal and Child Health, and the Future Role For the U.S.

From 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. ET on May 24, the Kaiser Family Foundation will hold a policy forum to look at the progress in reaching MDGs 4 and 5, and the evolving U.S. role in improving maternal and child health in developing countries.

Renewed attention by the global community to improve maternal and child health worldwide is creating the potential for significant progress in the coming years.  In the United States, the U.S. government also has increased its focus on tackling the high rates of maternal and child mortality in the developing world through the administration’s Global Health Initiative, which includes specific maternal and child health targets and addresses other health challenges affecting women and girls, including family planning and reproductive health. 

Recently published data from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) show some progress in improving maternal health globally in recent years, though substantially more progress will be needed to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health by 2015. 

The expert panel discussion will include Jennifer Klein, senior advisor on global women’s issues at the U.S. Department of State; Flavia Bustreo, director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, World Health Organization; Ana Langer, president, EngenderHealth; Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington; and Jen Kates, vice president and director of Global Health Policy and HIV, Kaiser Family Foundation.  Foundation Executive Vice President Diane Rowland will moderate.

The forum in the Foundation's Washington, D.C. office is open to the public.

NOTE: Following the Kaiser policy event, there will be a symposium co-hosted by The Lancet and IHME featuring key maternal and child health experts in a scientific dialogue around the data and analytic approaches in estimating maternal and child mortality around the world. For details about that session, visit http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/events/maternal_child_symposium_0510.html or contact Summer Ohno at slohno@uw.edu.