The Partners’ Forum will meet in Delhi next month with delegates from 192 countries
Prime minister Narendra Modi will deliver the keynote address when India hosts a prestigious international meet on infant and maternal health next month. Modi is the patron of the Partners’ Forum, short for The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (The Partnership, PMNCH).
PMNCH is an alliance of more than 1000 organizations in 192 countries. The organisations work in the the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health communities, as well as health influencing sectors. The conference is held every four years; this is the second time India is hosting it.
One of the best practices that will be showcased at the event is the Intensified Mission Indradhanush programme of the government of India. IMI will also feature as one of the 12 Glocal best practices in a special issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal)
The 2018 Forum, hosted by the Government of India will centre on improving multisectoral action for results, sharing country solutions and capturing the best practices and knowledge within and among the health sector and related sectors. It will also emphasize the importance of people- centred accountability bringing forward the voices and lived realities of women, children and adolescents through innovative programming and creative projects.
One of the best practices that will be showcased at the event is the Intensified Mission Indradhanush programme of the government of India. IMI will also feature as one of the 12 Glocal best practices in a special issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal), to be released on the occasion of the conference.
Launched by prime minister Narendra Modi in October 2017, IMI was symbolic of a sharpened focus on high priority districts and urban areas. Under IMI, four consecutive immunization rounds were conducted for 7 days in 173 districts — 121 districts and 17 cities in 16 states and 52 districts in 8 north eastern states — every month between October 2017 and January 2018.
Both IMI and its precursor Mission Indradhanush were carried out alongside routine immunisation activities. The idea was to do a booster immunisation drive to target areas that traditionally lag.
Specific goals of the Partners’ Forum include:
* Greater political momentum, sustaining attention to the “Survive-Thrive-Transform” agenda of the Global Strategy, and its contribution to driving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The voices of women, children and adolescents will be central to our messaging and framing.
* Knowledge exchange, through sharing of lessons learned and best practices to innovate and improve implementation strategies for results. The rigorously produced “Success Factors” case studies (selected from more than 300 partner-led proposals) will anchor this effort.
* Improved cross-sectoral collaboration through knowledge exchange and joint advocacy strategies.
