The differences between Ethiopia, Florida and New Mexico are vast, in terms of both miles and health status. But thanks to APHA, health professionals from each of the regions are finding they have something important in common: A desire to improve maternal and child health among their communities.
Funded by Colgate-Palmolive, APHA’s annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Institute helps public health professionals develop leadership approaches to address the health needs of women and children. While each of the six prior sessions of the institute have been composed of teams from a variety of U.S. states, this year it includes a team of health professionals from Ethiopia.
Made up of health professionals and physicians from universities and a health bureau, the Ethiopian team is looking forward to gaining new skills and bringing home lessons they can use to improve maternal and child health in their country, according to team leader Yilma Melkamu, MD, MPH, a professor at Addis Ababa University. Maternal mortality in Ethiopia is among the worst in the world, with 24,000 such deaths in 2000, according to the most recent report on the issue from Save the Children.
“Less than 6 percent of women have access to skilled care in times of delivery,” Melkamu told The Nation’s Health.
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Members of the Ethiopian maternal and child health team and others from the nation’s delegation traveled to APHA’s 135th Annual Meeting in November in Washington, D.C. Photo by Michele Late |
Infant and child mortality is also high in Ethiopia, with 109 infants per 1,000 births dying before 1 year of age, and 164 per 1,000 dying before 5 years of age, according to UNICEF’s 2007 State of the World’s Children report. In contrast, the United States has an infant mortality rate of 6.8 deaths per 1,000 births, according to the latest state rankings report from the United Health Foundation. In general, Ethiopia ranks as the 19th worst for death rates for children younger than age 5 when compared to more than 180 countries around the world.
Armed with that knowledge, the Ethiopian team members plan to apply the leadership skills they gain from the institute to their work back home. For example, Melkamu said he is working on culturally appropriate ways to encourage women who are giving birth to deliver their infants in a health care setting instead of at home without medical care.
“It’s very important to get this kind of training,” Melkamu said. “It helps us to improve the situation. I believe it is going to help me in terms of improving my skills.”
In November, health professionals from each of the three Maternal and Child Health Leadership Institute teams came together during APHA’s 135th Annual Meeting for a two-day leadership training session with guest speakers, workshops and presentations. The team members got to know one another, discuss issues of importance and make plans for the year ahead. While the teams have now returned home, participants will continue to communicate and receive training through online forums and education modules that will enhance their team projects.
In particular, team members from Florida are planning to create an emergency preparedness toolkit for pregnant women and children that can be used by health professionals and the public, while New Mexico team members are working together to improve maternal and child health among American Indians in Bernalillo County, N.M., through outreach, training programs and a policy brief on disparities.
APHA member Mirine Dye, a member of the Florida team who works with the Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition, said her team is hoping to gain insights through the institute on engaging leaders and incorporating maternal and child health preparedness into existing policies.
“Learning team-building skills is also very important, especially for our team, which represents many different disciplines in maternal and child health all across the state of Florida,” Dye said. “Preparedness has a huge spotlight on it at present, and maternal and child health is among top priorities for most countries, so finding a way to incorporate those priorities for our project is going to be a challenge.”
A community-centered approach to public health practice is at the heart of the Maternal and Child Health Leadership Institute, said Mighty Fine, MPH, an APHA public health analyst.
“It is important that successful, science-based public health practices on improving maternal and child health are both translated and communicated,” Fine said.
For more information on the Maternal and Child Health Leadership Institute, visit www.apha.org/programs/additional/mch, e-mail mighty.fine@apha.org or call (202) 777-2493.