Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
The 16th annual State of the World’s Mothers report has a special focus on the rapidly urbanising world and the poorest mothers and children who must struggle to survive despite overall urban progress. Key findings of the report include: the world, especially the developing world, is becoming urbanised at a breathtaking pace, with virtually all future population growth… Read more
This report is a summary of an extensive evaluation undertaken by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of its response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It focuses on Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives — countries that had the most serious damage and received 84 per cent of UNICEF tsunami country-level funds. The evaluation mainly… Read more
The primary purpose of this toolkit is to provide a resource for researchers from various disciplines interested in planning and evaluating programmes or interventions aimed at improving the health and development of infants and young children. The toolkit aims to provide an overview of issues affecting early development and its measurement; discuss the types of… Read more
Dr Stephanie Bengtsson and Dr Jo Ailwood have been involved in a teacher training research project in Zimbabwe since 2013. This talk looks at how the concept of care can be used to integrate early childhood services. A mapping of age phases across sectors is presented and the meaning of the word ‘care’ is discussed…. Read more
This helpdesk provides a rapid analysis on the existing evidence related to effective behaviour change interventions. It has a particular focus on where interventions are related to hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, gender based violence, indoor air pollution, family planning adoption, unsafe sex, motor vehicle driving. The geographic focus is Malawi, but where necessary it draws… Read more
The nature and scale of the problem Depression is a mental disorder characterised by low mood, loss of interest or enjoyment, and reduced energy, leading to increased fatigue, reduced activity, and marked functional impairment (WHO, 1990). Other common symptoms are reduced concentration, reduced self-esteem, ideas of guilt or unworthiness, pessimistic views of the future, ideas… Read more
In January 2016, a team led by Dr Garba M. Ashir of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital received a grant for new research to understand the demand-side barriers which prevent mothers with young children from accessing nutritional services. The grant was awarded by Operations Research and Impact Evaluation (ORIE), a DFID-funded consortium of UK and Nigerian organisations. The project will generate valuable research findings… Read more
The Ugandan Government has been recognised for adopting policies that have promoted a universal gender mainstreaming agenda. Uganda has been a relatively stable country for the last 30 years though its Northern region sustained a confined 20-year civil war. In the post-conflict setting, there is a convergence of this gender mainstreaming agenda with other dynamics… Read more
This manual provides simple instructions on how to integrate the management of perinatal depression into the work of a community health worker. The Thinking Healthy approach is based on some general principles that must be observed for the successful integration and delivery of the intervention. These principles should be emphasised throughout training and supervision, and include: moving… Read more
Maternal mental health is largely neglected in low- and middle-income countries. There is no routine screening or treatment of maternal mental disorders in primary care settings in South Africa. The Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) developed an intervention to deliver mental health care to pregnant women in a collaborative, step-wise manner making use of existing… Read more
Postnatal depression is a psychological disorder which occurs within six weeks after childbirth. It is a serious mental health problem for women and its consequences have important implications for the welfare of the family and the development of the child. Postnatal depression is a recognised cause of delayed cognitive development in infants in developed countries. This… Read more