The International Health Committee of the MCH Section has several important sessions planned for the Annual Meeting.  The business meeting, session # 237, will be held on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. This is a great time to see old friends and meet new committee members, and it is open to all who are interested in IH/MCH.  We will start with an update on the U.S. Coalition for Child Survival (USCCS) from Dr. Andrew Barrer.  USCCS has done a tremendous job of advocating for increased funds for USAID grant programs, with the assistance of many people including members of our section; for more information, see http://www.child-survival.org/. 

In addition to the business meeting, we will have a presentation from Dr. Frank Anderson, an OB/GYN at the University of Michigan.  Dr. Anderson has an MPH from Johns Hopkins and has worked with the USAID Child Survival Program.  He has done extensive research on maternal mortality in Ghana and Haiti, including demonstrating the effect of maternal mortality on child survival, as well as utilizing verbal autopsies and maternal mortality reviews to improve maternal outcomes.  Dr. Anderson will provide a brief presentation and lead a discussion about the role of maternal mortality review in low resource settings.  For more about Dr. Anderson and his work, see http://www.springerlink.com/content/228153k3402r4427/?p=261932acd51340a9b376d06fdd7954ba&pi=10.  The presentation will be followed by a business meeting, which will include planning for the coming year. 

Our committee will also sponsor two other sessions, one on the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), using examples from several countries.  This session will focus on the controversy surrounding the role of TBAs in settings where skilled birth attendance is not realistic now and likely will not be in the near future.  The session, which should raise many important issues about maternal care, is #4106 on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 10:30 a.m.  Our poster session, focusing on understanding risks and improving interventions for healthy women and newborns, is #5023 at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29.  We look forward to seeing you and engaging in lively discussions about these important issues.

Judy Lewis

Co-Chair, MCH International Health Committee