PMNCH Partners' Forum: From Pledges to Action
Innovation Showcase
At the Partners' Forum in Delhi, PMNCH mounted an "Innovation Showcase" of 15 global examples of new ideas, products and/or practices in the delivery of women's and children's health services, policies and financing. The ideas, represented below, do not represent an exhaustive search for the world's "best", nor PMNCH's endorsement of their value, but are intended to inspire and provoke. Whether high tech, low tech, or a new twist on a common practice, these fresh ideas are an essential part of accelerating our progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
Some ideas here come from the private sector, some from the public sector, and many represent a blend of private and public efforts. They range from new approaches in the delivery of care to improvements in financing, policy and communication. Many innovations emerge from the need to overcome practical challenges in delivering quality care to women and children around the world.
Ideas were suggested by scientific literature review, the background papers of the Innovation Working Group of the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, and innovation databases from such organizations as the Center for Health Market Innovations and the mHealth Alliance. Ideas were then presented for review to representatives of the Innovation Working Group and the Forum Programme Committee with the following criteria in view:
- Inspirational: Promising ideas that deserve wider exposure, given their potential value to improve public health, deliver better value for money, and/or improve social equity.
- Proven: Tested/evaluated for quality and cost in different contexts, though the selected innovations may be at different stages of development and assessment.
- Adaptable and scalable: Viable in different regional/national contexts.
- Recent: Implemented in the past 5-10 years.
New ideas to improve health are continually emerging. Some prove successful when scientifically tested; others less so, but may feed into the research pipeline, advancing our collective knowledge incrementally.
The innovations listed below are grouped along the continuum of care and consist of two parts: a short description accompanied by a powerpoint display.
Innovations
Pre-pregnancy
Pregnancy
Newborn care
Childhood
Monitoring and evaluation
