Informed Decisions for Actions in Maternal and Newborn Health 2010–17 Report

Professor Joanna Schellenberg; Professor Tanya Marchant; Dr Bilal Avan; Professor Elizabeth Allen; Emma Beaumont; Dr Della Berhanu; Dr Meenakshi Gautham; Professor Zelee Hill; Krystyna Makowiecka; Kate Sabot; Dr Neil Spicer; Dr Nasir Umar; Shirine Voller; Suzanne Welsh; Deepthi Wickremasinghe

Report

Informed Decisions for Actions in Maternal and Newborn Health 2010–17 Report

by Professor Joanna Schellenberg, Professor Tanya Marchant, Dr Bilal Avan, Professor Elizabeth Allen, Emma Beaumont, Dr Della Berhanu, Dr Meenakshi Gautham, Professor Zelee Hill, , Krystyna Makowiecka, Kate Sabot, Dr Neil Spicer, Dr Nasir Umar, Shirine Voller, Suzanne Welsh and Deepthi Wickremasinghe

published 16 November 2017

IDEAS is a measurement, learning and evaluation project based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The project aims to find out “what works, why, and how” for maternal and newborn health in three low-resource settings in Nigeria, India, and Ethiopia. The IDEAS team includes 20 research and professional support staff, living in Abuja, Addis Ababa, London, and New Delhi, who have been working since 2010 with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and with the foundation’s implementation partners.

Download LSHTM_IDEAS_Phase 1 Report 1MB

Back in 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle developed a new strategy for the coming years, outlining how they might achieve their long term aim of fewer maternal and child deaths in Nigeria, Ethiopia and the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They chose to focus on these settings for two reasons: firstly, the alarmingly high death rate among mothers and children, largely due to preventable causes, and secondly, the very high numbers of mothers and children. Uttar Pradesh, for example, has over 200 million people, making it comparable to Brazil which is the fifth largest country in the world.

Respectful and equitable health services for women Copyright: iStock

In 2010, the foundation approached the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with a request to support the measurement, learning and evaluation of their new maternal and child health strategy. The IDEAS project
was developed to respond to this request. Since 2010, the IDEAS team have worked closely with collaborators in north-east Nigeria, Ethiopia, and India
to improve understanding of “what works, why and how” in these settings for maternal and newborn health. This report outlines their approach, giving highlights of the work. We hope you enjoy reading it.

Professor Betty Kirkwood, Professor Sir Andy Haines,
Professor Dame Anne Mills, Professor Kara Hanson
and Professor Simon Cousens
IDEAS Strategic Management Group
2010–17