Publication Date May 1, 2023 Webinars

Making Capacity Building Innovations for Health Workers Stick: Lessons from COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction

COVID-19 vaccine introduction proved that alternate training and supervision methods are possible. With restrictions around social distancing, the rapid availability of a new vaccine, and the urgency of vaccinating non-traditional populations, immunization staff found creative solutions to capacity building, often using alternate delivery methods for the first time. On May 10, 2023, MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity project held a webinar to share findings from their recent landscape analysis and practices for fostering innovations in health worker capacity building over the long term.

Publication Date May 1, 2023 Program & Technical Resources

Designing and Sustaining Innovations in Health Worker Capacity Building: Landscape Analysis from COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction

This landscape analysis analyzes emerging practices for health worker training and capacity building associated with the pandemic, particularly for COVID-19 vaccine introduction. The aim of this analysis was to assess managerial aspects of alternative, or innovative approaches to training and their applicability to routine immunization over the longer term. Lessons from this analysis can inform the expansion and sustainability of innovations for health worker capacity building in immunization.

Publication Date May 1, 2023 Program & Technical Resources

Implementation of Task Sharing Guidelines for Long-Acting and Permanent Methods

The WHO recommendations for task sharing present categories of healthcare providers and supply guidance on what different cadres within the health system are authorized to do in relation to the provision of contraceptive information and services, as well as the contexts in which they are allowed to offer contraceptive services. This brief synthesizes key findings and recommendations to enable donors, policymakers, advocacy groups, and program implementers to address existing policy and human resources barriers to implementation and to leverage opportunities to expand the practice of task sharing.

Publication Date May 1, 2023 Research & Evidence

National Programs for the Prevention and Management of Postpartum Hemorrhage and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Global Survey

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) continue to be two of the three leading direct causes of maternal death in low- and middle-income countries. In 2022, USAID, with support from MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership and MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery and their multiple partners, conducted a survey of national programs working to reduce maternal and newborn mortality from PPH and HDP. From January to May 2022, 31 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean completed a 69-question survey on national PPH and HDP policies and practices in the public and private sectors. Findings from the 2022 survey generated several compelling insights into the current status of national programs addressing PPH and HDP; these insights have implications for national policies, guidelines, capacity building and training, midwife scope of practice, data tracking on HMIS, programs, and future research. These resources share detailed findings of the analysis and highlights and key messages in the technical brief.

Publication Date May 1, 2023 Program & Technical Resources

Women’s Experience of Peripartum Hysterectomy and Provision of Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

This brief summarizes a scoping review focused on the provision and experience of care in the context of peripartum hysterectomy in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This brief also summarizes key facilitators and barriers to appropriate care (evidence‐based, high‐quality, timely, and at the appropriate levels) in facilities providing peripartum hysterectomy as well as recommendations to strengthen the provision of care and women’s experience of this procedure in low‐ and middle-income countries.

Publication Date May 1, 2023 Webinars

Delivering Uncertainty: The Ongoing Risk of Motherhood

On May 2, 2023, MOMENTUM held a live, fireside chat-style event in the lead-up to the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference (IMNHC) and the International Day of the Midwife (May 5). Panelists from Ghana, India, and Zambia, as well as global MOMENTUM projects and USAID, discussed the stalled progress in maternal health revealed by the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) recently released maternal mortality estimates and what can be done about it.

Publication Date April 1, 2023 Research & Evidence

Improving Metrics and Methods for Assessing Experience of Care Among Children and Caregivers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

There is a growing recognition of the importance of conceptualizing and measuring young children’s and their families’ experience of care in health facilities in low- and middle-income countries. This landscape review considers the importance of pediatric experience of care (PEoC) and related frameworks, metrics, and tools. Following the development of this framework, MOMENTUM Knowledge Accelerator carried out a qualitative study soliciting expert feedback on the proposed framework. The accompanying technical brief summarizes the study’s findings.

Publication Date April 1, 2023 Webinars

Harnessing the Power of the Pandemic Response to Take Immunization into a New Era

On April 26, 2023, MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity held a webinar about lessons learned from India and Kenya during the pandemic and how they can be applied to routine immunization. In the webinar, government officials from India discussed bringing equitable COVID-19 vaccination to vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations using community engagement and working through local non-governmental organizations. Additionally, panelists spoke about Kenya’s immunization program and what measures were taken to keep immunization coverage from dropping during the pandemic, including new strategies to improve equity and life course vaccination were implemented.

Publication Date April 1, 2023 About MOMENTUM

Tackling Obstacles to Increase Equity for Immunization

MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity applies best practices and explores innovations to increase equitable immunization coverage in USAID-supported countries. It works to build countries’ capacity to identify and overcome barriers to reaching zero-dose and under-immunized children and older populations with lifesaving vaccines and other integrated health services, including rebuilding immunization systems adversely affected by the pandemic. This infographic showcases some of the project's major achievements to date. 

Publication Date April 1, 2023 Research & Evidence

Informed Consent for Cesarean Section in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review Brief

The original scoping review conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), on which this brief is based, sought to better understand the existing range of literature on informed consent practices for CS in low- and middle-income countries. The scoping review mapped and synthesized evidence from existing literature on the practices and experiences of counseling, informed consent, and debriefing (CCD)—including barriers, facilitators, and interventions to promote these practices—to highlight key challenges and any previously successful programmatic interventions to address them. The review also identified research gaps and provides recommendations for future research.