The Institute of International Education and the Maternal Health Task Force at Harvard School of Public Health are pleased to announce the 2013 Maternal Health Young Champions!
Mr. Ashiru Adamu Abubakar
Country: Nigeria
Mentor: Mr. Umar Farouk Wada, Health Education Initiative for Women
Maternal Health Focus: Main causes of maternal mortality in Northern Nigeria
Background: Mr. Ashiru Abubakar is a medical practitioner focusing on obstetrics. Recognizing the role of obstetric hemorrhages in many maternal deaths, Ashiru pushed for an unprecedented blood donation campaign for the maternity unit of the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano. This campaign has so far yielded over 200 donated pints of blood – one of the highest in the country. As a voluntary blood donor himself, he has helped to dispel some of the misconception in the region towards blood donations. He also participated in drafting a protocol to tackle the rising incidences of child sexual abuse.
As a Young Champion, Ashiru hopes to explore various implementation strategies for programs that target provider attitudes as a way of improving access to skilled maternal health services.
Mr. Solomon Abebe Addis
Country: Ethiopia
Mentor: Dr. Dereje Negussie, Engender Health Ethiopia
Maternal Health Focus: Institutional delivery
Background: Mr. Solomon Abebe Addis has a MS in Social Development Management, a degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology and certificate in Management Development. He has experience working with the government and local NGOs, mostly on youth-related projects. He has a multi-dimensional approach to maternal health and reproductive health issues. Solomon is a believer in networking and connects to society through the various forums and clubs that he manages. He is the founder of Millennium Youth Coalition, an organization that facilitates trainings, workshops, campaigns, and provided health access for rural girls. At his current job, he established a large HIV Network in Ethiopia that comprises more than 800 health organizations which succeeded in providing referral health service for 25,000 destitute HIV positive mothers. Solomon is a strong social media user and discusses maternal health issues on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and contributes to Alliance Newsletter.
As a Young Champion, Solomon would like to conduct a research on creative ways of upgrading maternal health of HIV positive mothers and network with different parts of the world to share important maternal health best practices.
Ms. Vasudha Chakravarthy
Country: India
Mentor: Dr. Pushpa Tiwari, Tata Steel Family Initiatives Foundation
Maternal Health Focus: Research and evaluation studies
Background: Ms. Vasudha Chakravarthy has a Master’s degree in Public Health and experience in conducting research and evaluation studies. Vasudha has analyzed data to support maternal and child health interventions in several states in India. At her current job at TRIOs Development Support, Vasudha coordinated a study on adolescent reproductive and sexual health and rights across multiple states. She has experience in undertaking field based studies and managing large data sets and has been exposed to a variety of perspectives on reproductive and maternal health issues.
As a Young Champion, Vasudha would like to conduct a study of the national cash transfer scheme to reduce maternal mortality to examine in what circumstances cash transfer is adequate to overcome cost constraints and socio-cultural factors which may prevent a pregnant woman from seeking an institutional delivery.
Ms. Priya John
Country: India
Mentor: Professor Nutan Jain, Indian Institute of Health Management Research
Maternal Health Focus: Maternal Deaths and Field Work in Jharkhand
Background: Ms. Priya John has a Master’s degree in Gender and Development and Social Work and has been working on public health issues for several years. As part of a funding agency focusing on health and nutrition, she worked extensively in Jharkhand with agencies and individuals working on maternal health concerns. Her area of focus was the network formed for delivery of services through the public health system. Priya worked with a local team in rural Jharkhand to systematically document maternal deaths; these cases were shared at different platforms with varied stakeholders. She hopes to conduct further research on the accessibility and availability of maternal healthcare for indigenous populations in hard-to-reach area. She continues to work for access to care through Pehal, based in Jharkhand.
As a Young Champion, Priya hopes to gain clinical knowledge, understanding of access concerns, and to improve documentation and reporting of maternal deaths at the block or district level.
Mr. Anteneh Asefa Mekonnen
Country: Ethiopia
Mentor: Dr. Delayehu Bekele, Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College
Maternal Health Focus: Improvement of institutional delivery
Background: Mr. Anteneh Asefa Mekonnen has a MPH and BSc in Nursing. He has several responsibilities in his position at Hawassa University School of Public and Environmental Health as lecturer and health care management module coordinator and formerly served as assistant dean of health science faculty at another government university. He is an author and a co-author of eight research activities contributing to the health sector. He has also served as a part-time consultant for the Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, and NGOs. He has conducted training of trainers on maternal, newborn, and child health and the PMTCT services. In addition to several other reproductive health based trainings.
As a Young Champion, Anteneh hopes to explore how to improve the institutional delivery service in southern Ethiopia.
Ms. Oluwadamilola Olufunbi Olaogun
Country: Nigeria
Mentor: Professor Oladele Akogun, Common Heritage Foundation
Maternal Health Focus: Maternal health services and socio-cultural barriers
Background: Ms. Oluwadamilola Olaogun has a medical degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and a Masters of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. She is passionate about issues related to maternal and child health. During her service year, Oluwadamilola initiated the inclusion of health promotion and volunteered as a health instructor in a skills acquisition community development project called “Girl Child Education Initiative.” Oluwadamilola worked with the Midwives Service Scheme team on the state of readiness assessment for the condition cash transfer pilot project. She also gives technical assistant for research development in PHI.
As a Young Champion, Oluwadamilola would like to identify ways of reducing socio-cultural barriers that can limit access to maternal health service delivery. She will seek ways of designing programs with an understanding of the local contextual background.
Ms. Luz Maria Soto Pizano
Country: Mexico
Mentor: Dr. Rosario Cardenas, Observatorio de Motalidad Materna
Maternal Health Focus: Maternal Health Field Work in Chiapas
Background: Ms. Luz Maria Soto Pizanohas a medical degree from Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City and is currently earning a Master’s Degree in Rural Development. She has worked on maternal health issues for several organizations and has volunteered in Mexico and Haiti. Luz Maria is passionate about her job; she is concerned about the wellbeing of the community she is working in and open to enhance her abilities and knowledge to improve her professional capabilities. Currently, she works as a coordinator at Casa de la Mujer in Chiapas and has improved the results of the organization’s work.
As a Young Champion, Luz Maria would like to develop programs that ensure women are receiving the best possible attention and information and hopes that health will someday be a right that women fully enjoy.
Ms. Neha Rathi
Country: India
Mentor: Dr. Wasundhara Joshi, Society for Nutrition, Education, and Health Action
Maternal Health Focus: Human & reproductive rights law
Background: Ms. Neha Rathi has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications, a law degree from the University of Delhi, and a Master of Laws in International Human Rights from the London School of Economics. At the Human Rights Law Network, she worked on two cases that resulted in the award of compensation to victims of reproductive rights violations for the first time and assisted on the landmark reproductive rights case of Laxmi Mandal vs. Deen Dayal Hari Nager Hospital & Ors. In the past year Neha has conducted legal research on Justifiability of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; Law of Self-Determination and Secession; and Poverty as Violation of Human Rights. She has published articles on reproductive rights in The Asian Age, Asian News International, Sahara Time, and Hard News Magazine.
As a Young Champion, Neha hopes to document maternal deaths audit processes in Maharashtra and conduct workshops on reproductive rights in the community and increase her exposure and knowledge of issues pertaining to maternal health, maternal deaths, and pregnancy-related risks.
Ms. Chinomnso Ibe Traffina
Country: Nigeria
Mentor: Dr. Emeka Nwachukwu, E&F Management Consult
Maternal Health Focus: Male involvement; community advocates
Background: Ms. Chinomnso Traffina specializes in nursing, is a certified midwife, and is working towards an Advanced Masters in Public Health. She has worked at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria for over two years, where she coordinated the Global Fund ATM and health system project. She currently works for the Traffina Foundation for Community Health, which she founded in 2007. She has experience working on programs for maternal/child health and father care projects in Eastern and Northern Nigeria. Included among these projects is the award-winning “Let’s Save Our Mothers” program. Chinomnso first became interested in maternal health as a student at the Midwifery Training School.
As a Young Champion, Chinomnso hopes to mobilize women to achieve better health during pregnancy and childbirth by organizing free check-ups, immunizations, and medical outreaches.
Ms. Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Country: Ethiopia
Mentor: Mr. Mekonnen Degu, Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia
Maternal Health Focus: Prevention of maternal deaths
Background: Ms. Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik has a MPH from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, a Bachelor of Science, and a Bachelor of Arts from Converse College. She has experience working on community based projects across various cultures, including conducting focus group discussions in reproductive health issues in rural areas of Ethiopia and designing health oriented development projects and capacitating women in Rajasthan, India. As part of her master’s thesis, she designed and implemented a qualitative research project to study the provision of medico-legal services to survivors of sexual violence. Mahlet recently completed a fellowship at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, France where she was part of a team that conceptualized a research project based on the major noncommunicable diseases causing premature death and disability in the European population. She was editor-in-chief of the Public Health International Network (PHIN) newsletter from 2010-2011 in Paris, France.
As a Young Champion, Mahlet would like to work on promoting preventive services such as availability of contraception, family planning, and safe abortion services to prevent disabilities and premature deaths. She believes making information accessible is vital for people to make informed choices on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.