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McMaster professor and MSc GH program Academic Coordinator Dr. Christy Gombay is proud to be among a group of Canadians contributing to improving the health of mothers, newborns and children around the world.

 

Gombay has been involved in the DFATD proposal – led by the Tula Foundation in partnership with McMaster University – which has been selected for Partnerships for Strengthening Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PSMNCH) funding.

 

“We have been working with a great team in Guatemala and Canada since 2004,” says Gombay. “It is their commitment to improving health in rural indigenous areas using e/mHealth technologies that lies at the heart of this effort.”

 

The $10.8-million Scaling up Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) initiative aims to reduce maternal and child mortality by strengthening essential maternal, newborn and child health services in Guatemala. The Government of Canada will be contributing $7.6 million to the initiative. It will scale up the existing community e/mHealth initiative, currently being implemented in one region of Guatemala, to three other priority regions chosen by the Guatemalan Ministry of Health, with a target population of 3.7 million people.

 

The initiative is part of Canada’s $3.5-billion commitment to maternal, newborn and child health for the period 2015–2020 announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm’s Reach global summit in Toronto in May 2014. 

 

The initiative is implemented by a consortium led by the Tula Foundation with the participation of McMaster University, and will contribute to strengthening health systems and ensuring accountability for results.