Preparing the next generation of maternal and newborn health leaders: the maternal and newborn health champions initiatives

Blami Dao; Emmanuel Otolorin; Patricia P Gomez; Catherine Carr; Harshad Sanghvi

doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.03.004

Preparing the next generation of maternal and newborn health leaders: the maternal and newborn health champions initiatives

Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2015 Jun:130 Suppl 2:S40-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.03.004.

Authors

Blami Dao¹, Emmanuel Otolorin², Patricia P Gomez³, Catherine Carr³, Harshad Sanghvi³

Affiliations

¹ Jhpiego, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: blami.dao@jhpiego.org.
² Jhpiego, Abuja, Nigeria.
³ Jhpiego, Baltimore, MD, USA.

PMID: 26115857
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.03.004

Abstract

A champion in health care can be defined as any health professional who has the requisite knowledge and skills in a relevant health field, who is respected by his/her peers and supported by his/her supervisors, and who takes the lead to promote or introduce evidence-based interventions to improve the quality of care. Jhpiego used a common approach during two distinct initiatives to identify individuals in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean whose expertise in their clinical service area and whose leadership capacity could be strengthened to enable them to serve as champions for maternal and newborn health (MNH). These champions have gone on to contribute to the improvement of MNH in their respective countries and regions. The lessons learned from this approach are shared so they can be used by other organizations to design leadership development strategies for MNH in low-resource countries.

Keywords: Capacity building; Champions; Leadership; Maternal health; Newborn health.

MeSH terms

Africa
Asia
Capacity Building*
Caribbean Region
Female
Humans
Infant Health / ethnology*
Infant, Newborn
Latin America
Leadership*
Maternal Health / ethnology*
Organizations
Pregnancy
Primary Health Care
Vulnerable Populations