2011 Top stories


January - March

H.E. Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of ECA at the opening ceremony

21 MARCH 2011 – ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - The fourth joint annual meeting of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic development, held in Addis Ababa from 24-29 March 2011 adopted a resolution on health financing.


PMNCH Board retreat

9-10 MARCH 2011| CAMBRIDGE, USA – Around 35 participants, including recently outgoing and incoming PMNCH Board Members met at a retreat in Cambridge (MA) with colleagues and new Director, Dr Carole Presern, to discuss PMNCH's strategic directions for 2012-2015.


Source: The Bill & Melinda Gates FoundatioN

9 MARCH 2011 - PMNCH partners USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank have launched a new partnership with the Government of Norway and Grand Challenges Canada to seek innovative solutions to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in developing countries: Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development.


Celebrating the 100th International Women Day

8 MARCH 2011 - This year marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. PMNCH partners are celebrating all over the world with inspiring messages, events, campaigns and more …


NCDs report cover illustration

22 FEBRUARY-4 MARCH 2011 - The United Nations celebrated the official launch of its newest organization UN Women led by Michelle Bachelet during the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Also: A side event saw the release of the world’s first report focused on the specific needs and challenges of girls and women at risk of, or living with non communicable diseases (NCDs).


Mothers and children. Credit: © UNICEF/NYHQ2005-1566/Pirozzi
© UNICEF/NYHQ2005-1566/Pirozzi

21 FEBRUARY 2011 | GENEVA - PMNCH has just released a new report - A review of global accountability mechanisms for women’s and children’s health - as part of its accountability work on the United Nations’ Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health and in support of The Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.


Global Health Human Resources Forum logo

28 JANUARY 2011 | BANGKOK - A parallel session at the Second Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (HRH) has highlighted the centrality of the health workforce to the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5.


Human  resources for health interventions cover illustration

1 FEBRUARY - Although the scientific literature are crowded with different examples of addressing human resources for health (HRH) needs for better maternal and child health outcomes, there is a need to systematize the findings, recommendations and lessons learned from the different studies and country experiences.


Dr Carole Presern

28 JANUARY 2011 |GENEVA - Dr Carole Presern has been named as the new Director of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) effective February 2011. Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) which hosts the PMNCH, made the official announcement.


1st meeting of the Accountability Commission
1st meeting of the Accountability Commission

26 JANUARY 2011 |GENEVA – High-level Chairs and Commissioners of the new Information and Accountability Commission on Women’s and Children’s Health have convened for their first meeting at WHO.


Yvonne Chaka Chaka

24 JANUARY - Ms Chaka Chaka toured across Africa to meet with women who are pioneering sustainable progress on health issues in their communities. Her travels led to the production of a heart-warming film entitled “The Motherland Tour - A Journey of African Women”.


WHO Executive Board

19 JANUARY 2011 | GENEVA - The WHO Executive Board (EB) has adopted a resolution regarding the follow-up to the high-level plenary meeting of the United Nations on the review of the Millennium Development Goals.


Saving newborn lives in Nigeria cover illustration

15 JANUARY - The report calls for an increased focus on reducing newborn deaths, the vast majority of which are avoidable. It says thousands of newborn lives can be saved via simple methods, such as teaching mothers about danger signs, encouraging them to seek help early and making sure there is enough medicine and enough healthcare workers at community health centres.



Midwife examining a pregnant woman

JANUARY | GENEVA-NEW YORK – Partners including PMNCH are collaborating to research and produce the first-ever report entitled: The State of the World’s Midwifery, expected to be released at the Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives on 20 June 2011 in Durban, South Africa.


Indian mother and baby

11 JANUARY 2011 - This Series of papers on India’s path to full health coverage reveals that a failing health system is perhaps India’s greatest predicament. The papers in this Series reveal the full extent of opportunities and difficulties in Indian healthcare.

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