Press Releases

MCH Community Holds Annual Forum in Sevagram

Sevagram, Maharashtra, 9 February 2007: The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Community of Solution Exchange is holding its second annual forum at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) in Sevagram, Wadha from February 9th to the 10th. Solution Exchange is a knowledge sharing initiative of the United Nations Country Team in India that offers development practitioners, an impartial space where they can exchange solutions towards achieving the objectives of India’s Five-Year Plans and the Millennium Development Goals.

Over 250 participants from across India are attending the forum. During the opening session Dr. P. Narang, Dean, MGMIS and Dr. B. S. Garg, Professor, Department of Community Medicine, MGMIS welcomed MCH members and outlined the mandate of MGMIS to provide state of the art healthcare to the poorest of the poor through community and hospital based care.

Dr. Paramita Sudharto, Public Health Administrator, WHO India provided a brief overview of Solution Exchange, the MCH Community and the meeting objectives and agenda.

Mr. Dhirubhai Mehtra, President, Katurba Health Society gave a detailed speech on the evidence based community interventions and applied research approach the MGMIS is employing.

Dr. P. P. Doke, Director, Health Services, Government of Maharashtra spoke passionately on need to make the issue of public health and specifically reducing maternal and child mortality.

Mr. Steve Glovinsky, Advisor, Solution Exchange explained the purpose behind the meeting and about Communities of Practice.

Finally, Mr. Meghendra Banerjee, Resource Person, MCH Community, concluded the session by thanking all the guests and participants.

The two-day workshop has provided MCH Community members a chance to interact face-to-face, identify and discuss emerging maternal and child health issues, and look for opportunities to take action on these critical issues.

On day one, participants attended sessions on emerging issues in the field of maternal, child health, and discussed ways to address critical concerns facing the Community. Day two participants will travel one of six field sites in the Wadha area to study and learn from successful rural health interventions.

Solution Exchange builds Communities of Practice by connecting people with similar concerns and interests through email groups and face-to-face interactions, building trust and strengthening their identity as a group. The objective is to leverage India’s knowledge pool so no has to “reinvent the wheel.”

The MCH Community is working to improve maternal and child health and to reduce maternal, infant and child mortality. Community members are from a wide range of backgrounds, from the government, NGOs, the private sector, academia, healthcare organizations, and donor and UN agencies. UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO facilitate the MCH Community.

For more information, contact Meghendra Banerjee- Resource Person, MCH Community 
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