浪花直播

鈥淚nnovation happens when there are pioneers that stick with it,鈥� said Monica Kerrigan, vice president of innovations at Jhpiego. 鈥淗ow can we鈥攅ach one of us鈥攂e part of the change process?鈥� Innovations will be essential to meeting , which is to reduce the to below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. Experts from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Jhpiego, Jacaranda Health, and Total Impact Capital came together at the 浪花直播 Center on September 14^th to discuss how maternal health clinics and other facilities can be drivers of innovation.

The first step in serving the most vulnerable populations, Kerrigan said, is 鈥渢o look at where we want to be in the future. We are not going to be there today鈥攁nd that is part of innovations.鈥�

Empowering Patients and Nurses: Innovations in Care

鈥淚mproving facility-based quality of care鈥hat鈥檚 really the heart of the work we do,鈥� said Nick Pearson of , a group of small-scale service providers in Nairobi, Kenya. In Kenya, the percentage of women delivering in facilities has risen from 40 percent to 60 percent in the last five years. 鈥淚t is a step in the right direction,鈥� Pearson said, but the quality of maternal health care in most facilities 鈥渋s still grossly subpar.鈥�

Jacaranda鈥檚 small maternity hospital on the outskirts of Nairobi emphasizes patient-centered care and , developing new systems and processes to deliver care affordably. 鈥淭o drive quality care,鈥� Pearson said, 鈥測ou need nurses that are empowered, that are well-trained, and that are engaged.鈥�

Jacaranda develops innovations in group-based care based on the creative minds of their own patients. For example, mothers took the initiative to create online group chats that Jacaranda鈥檚 nurses then joined, turning them into a consistent facet of Lamaze programs. Innovations and designs are constantly reshaped based on the feedback of their patients and their partners.

Jacaranda鈥檚 innovations are sustainable, too: The average cost of delivery at the Jacaranda hospital is about 100 US dollars, which is roughly how much the Kenyan government subsidizes private and public hospitals for delivery.

Falling in Love With the Problem: Innovations in Data and Training

Using data effectively is crucial when developing and revamping innovative programs. For example, , developed by Jhpiego and tested in Kenya and in Zanzibar, Tanzania, is a tablet that facilitates clinical decision making and analyzes data to monitor programs and facilities. The challenge is actually using this data, said Kerrigan, to evaluate solutions and change them accordingly. 鈥淐an we fall in love with the problem,鈥� she said, 鈥渂efore we jump into doing things?鈥� When innovators 鈥渇all in love with the solution,鈥� she said, they forget that changes are constantly needed.

, while at the same time avoiding taking them away from patients, is also a challenge that needs innovation. , a model developed by Jhpiego, reshapes training to better utilize time, save money, and provide adequate learning models for providers. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just keep on doing classroom training鈥aking people out of their jobs and putting them in a classroom to learn,鈥� Kerrigan said, 鈥渟o how can we think about these more targeted spurts of training that would allow people to learn faster, better, more affordably, and sustainably?鈥�

To enhance trainings for birth attendants, UNFPA developed the , a handheld projector with pre-downloaded training modules that can be used without being connected to the web. 鈥淚t is highly cost effective鈥攖he total cost of this is about $600,鈥� said Geeta Lal from UNFPA, 鈥渁nd it can be used for any kind of training.鈥�  Piloted in 2016, the MLS has been used to teach more than 3,000 beneficiaries in more than 100 training sessions, garnering significant interest from governments and ministries. If we can 鈥渟how something that works, money will come,鈥� said Lal.

Financing Change: Innovative Investment Vehicles

While innovative products can show tangible results fairly quickly, innovative designs and processes are not always the most attractive investments, as they need long-term financial support to be sustainable.  鈥淧ublic resources鈥re being extraordinarily constrained,鈥� said John Simon, a founding partner of . 鈥淗ow do you create investment vehicles that can attract private capital into the types of innovations that [the speakers] are talking about?鈥�

 鈥淭he challenge,鈥� Simon said, 鈥渋s if you are trying to serve a person in Kenya who has $100 or less to spend on maternal care鈥hat鈥檚 a market that straight commercial capital is not likely to look into.鈥� Through the establishment of the Medical Credit Fund, TOTAL works with banks to allow them to fund innovations that improve the quality of health facilities. Initially, the Medical Credit Fund covers all of the risk, and gradually shifts the risk to banks. Banks, with the support of the fund, lend to facilities with sustainable models for improvement and a strong demand for their services. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the most important thing is that you have something really innovative, that you can scale,鈥� said Simon, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is a shortage of that鈥ut I think connecting it with the capital will make it happen.鈥�

Technological advancements are crucial, but innovative ideas for scaling up existing solutions and for improving training of care providers are key to increasing the quality of maternal and child health care. The field is filled with opportunities, from new devices to refurbished business models. While all of these efforts require money, impact investing and other financial innovations may fill the gaps in public sector funding. The maternal health community should remain focused on fixing the problem, not on fixing the solution. 鈥淸If] you hit one wall, there鈥檚 always an opening,鈥� said Lal, 鈥渄on鈥檛 give up.鈥�

Event Resources:

• Monica Kerrigan Presentation
• Geeta Lal Presentation
• Nick Pearson Presentation

Written by Yuval Cohen and edited by Sarah Barnes and Meaghan Parker.