In recognition of International Day of Maternal Health and Rights (IDMHR, April 11th), Ariadne Labs and the Maternal Health Task Force co-hosted a webinar exploring ways in which to integrate respectful maternity care (RMC) into quality improvement initiatives. Speakers shared insight through the lenses of research, midwifery, obstetrics/ gynecology and program implementation.

The concept of RMC promotes pushback against stigma/discrimination and a lack of clear communication between patient and provider to improve the overall quality of the continuum of care. According to Ariadne Labs BetterBirth Program Director Katherine Semrau, "Implementing respectful maternity care practices requires recognizing individual needs and desires of women and what their choices are around the time of labor and delivery." Obstetrician/gynecologist Rose Molina, outlined how her team  focused on communication and women-centered care to provide a checklist of options during childbirth. While respectful maternity practices are important fundamentally in terms of ethics and human rights, they also influence maternal health outcomes-women who are disrespected or abused during childbirth are less likely to deliver in a facility in a subsequent pregnancy and may not seek facility-based care in the future.

This year, IDMHR fell three weeks after a watershed case in which a Kenyan woman was awarded 25,000 USD in compensation by a court in Bungoma, Kenya for the disrespect and abuse she suffered during childbirth in 2013.

 

In an op-ed for the African Exponent, author Milton Zaka argues that innovation plays a key role in sustainable development of the African continent. Startups, which have been driving innovation in Africa, require capital and access to investments in order to thrive.In 2017, a total of 159 startups raised $195 million ---  an increase from the previous year's investment levels according to Disrupt Africa.

Zaka stresses: "The provision of innovative and quality products as well as modern services will enable better healthcare, increased access to education, improved social life, poverty reduction and better quality of life. It will also contribute to the economic growth of African countries, and should be promoted by government, businesses, academia and other relevant agencies."

 

The needs of children during and after a disaster are often overlooked and under-addressed. Due to anatomical, physiological, immunological, developmental and psychological nuances, children require specialized care and are more vulnerable than adults in disaster scenarios. Children need different dosages and formulations of medicines as compared to adults, for example, as well as specific forms of personal protective equipment.

To tackle this gap, advocates of a legally binding model for global care of disaster-affected children are calling for "a new, rights-based model for the caring of children during and after disasters" built on elements such as disaster-wide (vs. country-wide) platforms, children's budgets for emergencies, and making children's rights known, among others. These advocates highlight the need for an increased focused and social responsibility to provide sufficient advocacy and thoughtful interventions for children in disaster-stricken areas.

 

SL@B partner, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has launched a new initiative called Pathways for Prosperity: Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development. At a recent session of the Skoll World Forum called "Emerging Technologies: Shifting the Path from Poverty to Prosperity," participants discussed several potential strategic priorities of the initiative, including the impact of rapid technological change on developing countries and ideas for providing opportunities for the world's poorest populations.

"A lot of people working in the tech space, they are pushing technology for the sake of technology as a solution, and then looking for a problem they can apply to it," said former chief economist at the United Kingdom's Department for International Development Stefan Dercon. Other experts at the session agreed that issues of technology and its impact tend to be oversimplified.