Building closer relationships:tackling the unmet needs ofwomen’s health

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 2014 1

FIGO welcomes new project staff | Helping Mothers Survive with the Laerdal Foundation |New Working Group formed for Pre-term Birth | Spotlight on FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOG Conference

| Special feature on maternal near miss reviews

continued on page 2

International Federation ofGynecology and ObstetricsFFIIGGOOFIGO

INSIDE:

communications@figo.orgwww.figo.org December 2014

Unmet needs of women’s healthIn order to address these, and other ‘unmetneeds’, of women, FIGO participated in a jointmeeting with the South Asian Federation ofObstetrics and Gynaecology (SAFOG) and the SriLanka College of Obstetricians andGynaecologists (SLCOG) over five days ofintense academic activity in Colombo, Sri Lanka,from 29 October-2 November 2014. Thelectures, symposiums and workshops weredeveloped with a human rights perspective inmind, bolstered by the active participation ofFIGO’s Japanese, Singaporean, Malaysian, UKand Australia and New Zealand nationalsocieties, among others. Contributions were alsomade by March of Dimes (MOD), the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and the UnitedNations Population Fund (UNFPA), alongside ahost of other non-governmental organisations,

making the meeting a unique event, supportedby high calibre scientific discussion. Theconference was a huge success, attended by700-plus delegates from over 40-plus countries.

Unsafe abortion and contraceptionIt was clear from the meeting that reproductive-age women in the SAFOG region face additionalproblems of anaemia, unplanned pregnancies,poor antenatal care, reduced access to muchneeded family planning and legal abortionservices. FIGO is working with some of thenational societies in the region to help tacklethese issues. The work on contraception andsafe abortion care is extended to several othercountries, notably Africa and South America.FIGO will concentrate intensively on theseissues – it is estimated that about 30 per cent ofmaternal mortality reduction can be achieved by

FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOG Conference (October/November 2014)FIGO President 4th from right, front row

(courtesy of the organisers)

Dear ColleaguesThe world is witnessing an unprecedentedinterest in women’s and newborns’ health.

Each one of us as individuals, and as part ofnational, regional and subregional societies, canhelp to alleviate problems. Many of our regionshave countries that harbour deep-rooted societalpractices, starting even before a child is born,such as sex-selected abortion, childhoodmarriage, child labour, adolescent rape, gender-based violence, sexual harassment atwork, so-called ‘honour’ killing – the list goes on.As professional societies, we need to extend ouractivities beyond the confines of our hospitals ifwe are to improve women’s health. Each of usneeds to work in these areas, both individuallyand collectively, by joining hands with non-governmental and governmental organisations toreduce or abolish these practices.

Building closer relationships: tackling the unmet needs of women’s healthcontinued from page 1

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 20142

meeting the current unmet need ofcontraception, and 13–15 per cent by providingsafe abortion care where it is legally permitted.We will explore the possibilities of expandingwork in these areas in more countries in asustainable way.

Gender-based violenceI have expressed grave concerns about gender-based violence (GBV) – alarmingly, the incidencein most countries seems to be rising. FIGO willplay an important role in tackling this majorproblem. We are in the process of finalising aWorking Group with international NGO partnersto look at how we can jointly work to reduce theburden of GBV, not only through advocacyactivities, but also exploring ways through whichwe can help at the ‘grassroots’ level. At the FIGOWorld Congress next October, we intend toexplore this issue in depth. The inauguralMahmoud Fathalla Lecture will be delivered byTony award winner, playwright, activist andauthor Eve Ensler. In addition, there will besessions covering important aspects of gender-based discrimination and violence.

Care of an ageing populationAnother unmet need discussed at the FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOG conference is care of an ageingpopulation. This situation presents a unique setof challenges, both medically and socially. Weneed to explore how best we can help the ageingpopulation live gracefully, by tackling theproblems they develop such as post-menopausalosteoporosis, fractures, urinary problems and theincreasing incidence of cancer and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We need topromote healthy living to reduce morbidity andfragility. The advances in technology, theknowledge “explosion” and increased patientexpectation require us to absorb the latestdevelopments in our field to care for thisparticular population. Every society should planpublic health interventions to promote the healthof the elderly through providing advice onnutrition, exercise, social interaction, cancerscreening and provision of early treatment ofcancer. The incidence of NCDs rises with ageingand there should be robust strategies for healthpromotion, screening and management.

Activities at national and regionalmeetingsIn August I attended the Obstetrical andGynaeclogical Society of Singapore’s annualmeeting, which provides much neededContinuing Professional Development (CPD)regional activity for those in our profession. Iattended a planning meeting with members fromthe University of Harvard and SLCOG to discussFIGO’s PPIUD project on post-partumcontraception, which will be monitored andevaluated by the University itself.

Professor George Creatsas was kind enough tointegrate a FIGO symposium in his conference onwomen’s health which took place in Athens,Greece in late August – I represented FIGO withProfessor Luis Cabero-Roura (Chair of the FIGOCommittee for Capacity Building in Educationand Training), and Professor Gian Carlo DiRenzo, FIGO Honorary Secretary, to highlightsome of FIGO’s activities in both well-resourcedand under-resourced countries.

In September I gave the opening address on thecurrent status of hypertensive disease inpregnancy in the ‘Pathophysiology of pregnancyand hypertension’ at the 35th Annual Congressof the Japan Society for the Study ofHypertension in Pregnancy (JSSHP 2014),organised by Dr Masao Nakabayashi.

I also had the unique opportunity of running apre-congress study day and presenting severallectures at the annual conference of theObstetrical and Gynecological Society ofBangladesh, held in Dhaka in late September.Theopportunity was taken to meet with its officersand the hospital co-ordinators with whom we willbe working on FIGO’s PPIUD project.

In November I represented FIGO at the PhilippineObstetrical and Gynecological Society’s annualconference, presenting a keynote paper on‘Translating Clinical Research into ClinicalPractice’. Professor Walfrido Sumpaico –Secretary General of the Asia & OceaniaFederation of Obstetrics & Gynaecology(AOFOG) – should be given credit for hisimmense contribution to the development ofobstetrics and gynecology in the Philippines, andmore generally in the Asia and Oceania region.

The Nepal Society of Obstetricians andGynecologists (NESOG) celebrated its SilverJubilee in mid-November. It was a pleasure tohave joined President Professor PushpaChaudhary and her team. This was followed bythe Indo-Nepal conference – it was a privilege toparticipate by invitation of the President andProfessor Suchitra Pandit, FOGSI President.

Our energetic Vice President, Professor ErnestoCastelazo, represented FIGO at two importantconferences, the 65° Congreso Mexicano deGinecología y Obstetricia (26–30 October 2014;also attended by our President Elect, ChiefExecutive and Chair of the FIGO Committee forCapacity Building in Education and Training), andthe 30th Venezuelan Meeting of Obstetrics andGynecology (4–9 November 2014). Both eventsattracted substantial participants and providedrich scientific discussion and debate.

Professor Ernesto Castelazo (Mexico, October 2014)

At this juncture, I must mention the exemplarydedication, commitment and spirit shown by theSociedad de Obstetricia y Ginecología deVenezuela under the expert leadership ofPresident Dr Rodrigo Alfonso Aria – he hasworked tirelessly to help his members act on ahost of FIGO recommendations. We are alwayshearing of the good activities being actioned byour national and regional societies – evidence oftrue social responsibility. I would like to conveymy deepest appreciation and gratitude on thesecommendable contributions, as we cometogether in our joint mission to improve the healthand wellbeing of women and newborn childrenworldwide.

The importance of communicationIt is important that FIGO keeps its membersabreast of important and useful announcements.To this end, a host of statements can be foundon our website covering a wide range of issues,most recently on World Prematurity Day, andWorld AIDS Day. Visit www.figo.org/figo-statements and www.figo.org/figo-joint-statements and please disseminate asappropriate.

In addition, FIGO likes to publicise topicalannouncements from collaborating organisationseg the Society of Obstetricians andGynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), the RoyalCollege of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists(RCOG) and the American Congress ofObstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) haverecently issued an important joint statement: ‘The Role of Professional Health Associations inReducing the Global Burden of MaternalMortality’, which can be found at the followinglink: www.acog.org/About-ACOG/News-Room/Statements-and-Advisories/2014/The-Role-of-Professional-Health-Associations-in-Reducing-the-Global-Burden-of-Maternal-Mortality.

Nine months to Vancouver 2015Preparation for the next World Congresscontinues apace, under the able leadership of therespective organising committees. The scientificprogramme is almost finalised, with participationfrom a number of major organisations. Leadersfrom global bodies will provide their insights onthe issue of ‘Every Mother and Every Newborn’at the President’s Session. The InauguralMahmoud Fathalla Lecture will be given by MsEve Ensler; the Markku Seppala Ovidon Lectureby Professor Linda Giudice (EnvironmentalExposures and Reproductive Outcomes: A Callto Action!); the ACOG Howard Taylor Lecture byProfessor Herbert Peterson (Great Moments inGlobal Women’s Health and Why We Are in OneNow!); and the De Watteville Lecture byProfessor Dennis Lo (Fetal DNA in MaternalPlasma: Translating Science into a New ClinicalParadigm).

I strongly encourage you to join us for thistriennial ob/gyn ‘Olympic’ event! – the Congresswebsite contains all you need to know atwww.figo2015.org.

Dr Harold KaminetzkyIt is with great sadness that I report to you thepassing of Dr Harold A Kaminetzky on 7November 2014. Harold was the second editorof FIGO’s International Journal of Gynecology &Obstetrics (IJGO) until 1985, and also a Presidentof ACOG. He was a great supporter of FIGO,standing as programme chair of the 1981 FIGOCongress in San Francisco (hosted by ACOG).FIGO conveys its sincere sympathies to his familyand many friends.

I would like to take thisopportunity to thankyou – and the hard-working staff of theFIGO Secretariat – foryour tremendoussupport throughout2014. This finalNewsletter of the yearcomes to you with ourvery best wishes for ahappy and productive2015.

Kind regards

Professor Sir Sabaratnam ArulkumaranFIGO President

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

(courtesy of the organisers)

Dr Harold Kaminetzky

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S OVERVIEW

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 2014 3

Dear ColleaguesAs we approach the last third of the year, thepace of activity within FIGO has not lagged, andwe find ourselves as busy as ever!

In July I attended a meeting organised byWomen and Health Alliance (www.waha-international.org) on gender-based violence,where aims and objectives were discussed.During this meeting, WAHA kindly agreed tosponsor the new FIGO Working Group onGender Violence. Violence against women isendemic in our world – it is essential thatphysicians are kept informed of the globalsituation so that they can work together toalleviate its terrible effects, the ripples of whichcan extend far beyond women and theirimmediate families.

Keeping human rights at the forefrontIn early September, FIGO was invited to animportant conference in Geneva, hosted by theHuman Rights Council, on how FIGO and otherorganisations are working with the technicalguidance on a rights-based approach tomaternal mortality and morbidity. At this event,Member States discussed the implementationreport in order to share more detailed informationabout the ways in which the technical guidanceis being used, and the importance of adoptingrights-based approaches in this area. National,regional and international perspectives wereexamined, as well as garnering input fromstakeholders, and there was much richdiscussion on common challenges. While inGeneva, I took the opportunity to hold meetingswith several WHO colleagues – Drs MarleenTemmerman, Mario Festin and Ahmet Metin –concerning a variety of FIGO-related issues, mostnotably regarding input into, and preparation of,our Pre-Congress courses in Vancouver nextyear.

In September, I travelled to Seoul on kindinvitation to attend the 100th Annual Conferenceof the Korean Society of Obstetrics andGynecology, and the 19th Seoul InternationalSymposium, to present on ‘The Role of FIGO inGlobal Women’s Health’. FIGO’s President-Elect,Dr C N Purandare, also participated. The eventwas superbly organised, and there was muchopportunity to liaise with our Korean colleagues

and to participate in enriching discussion anddebate about the many activities they engage into help improve the health of women in theircountry.

The challenges of prematurityEarly October saw me in Florence to present on‘FIGO Activities and International Actions toPrevent Prematurity’. The meeting was organisedby the Permanent International and EuropeanSchool in Perinatal, Neonatal and ReproductiveMedicine (PREIS), which was founded, and ispresided over, by Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo,FIGO Honorary Secretary. The issue of pre-termbirth is a critically important one, so much so thatFIGO has recently set up a new Working Groupin this area, with close support from collaboratingpartner March of Dimes. We look forward toreporting on its activities in due course.

In late October, I travelled to Mexico on invitationfrom the 65° Congreso Mexicano de Ginecologíay Obstetricia 2014. The Congress highlightedmany important issues, in particular, focusing onthe challenges of Mexico ASRH activities.Following on from this, I travelled to the FIGO-SAFOG-SCLOG conference in Sri Lanka. Acloser look at this important and highlysuccessful conference is provided by DrNarendra Malhotra, Editor of the SAFOG Journal,on page five.

In December, I attended the Partnership forMaternal, Newborn and Child Health’s (PMNCH)16th Executive Board Retreat in Geneva, andalso a special meeting in London with potentialnew collaborators M4ID, a social enterpriseorganisation, based in Finland, providing newcommunication technology services for thehealth and development sector. M4ID intends towork with four professional associations – FIGO,ICM, IPA and ICN – to better understand parties’efforts as techno-advocates at a global andcountry level. The meeting was attended byrepresentatives of the Gates Foundation, M4IDand the presidents of FIGO, ICN, IPA and ICM.

My very last commitments of 2014 will take meto Cairo for the Egyptian Fertility and SterilitySociety 20th Annual International Conference:‘New Trends and Developments in Women’sReproductive Health’. This will also provide anopportunity to discuss with The InternationalIslamic Center for Population Studies and

Research (IICPSR) and the WHO Regional Officefor the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) thedevelopment of regional activities, especially inthe area of FGM.

Recently, FIGO was saddened to say goodbye totwo dedicated project managers, Upeka de Silvaand Amata Kwizera. Their contributions to FIGOactivities were substantial and they will be greatlymissed. However, I am delighted to welcomeseveral new staff members – Jessica Morris, LilliTrautvetter and Maya Sethi (more detail on pagesix). We wish them all the best in their respectiveduties, and we are sure that project activities willcontinue smoothly as they find their feet in theFIGO family!

In addition, the FIGO finance department hasrecently restructured, and we are delighted toconsolidate our new team: Paul Mudali –Financial Controller; Atinuke Olanrewaju – ProjectAccountant; and Katarzyna Majak – FinanceAdministrator. We will introduce them and theirvaluable work in the next issue.

I hope that all FIGO colleagues and collaboratorsenjoy a successful and enjoyable conclusion to2014.

My best wishes to you and your families for2015.

Professor Hamid RushwanFIGO Chief Executive

FIGO HouseWaterloo Court, 10 Theed StreetLondon SE1 8ST, UKTel: +44 20 7928 1166Fax: +44 20 7928 7099Email: figo@figo.org

The International Federation of Gynecology andObstetrics is a UK Registered Charity (No 1113263;Company No 5498067) registered in England andWales. The Registered Office is shown above.

Administrative Director:Sean O’Donnell

FIGO Officers:

President:Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran (United Kingdom)

President-Elect:Professor Chittaranjan Narahari Purandare (India)

Past-President:Professor Gamal Serour (Egypt)

Vice President:Professor Ernesto Castelazo Morales (Mexico)

Honorary Secretary:Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo (Italy)

Honorary Treasurer:Professor Wolfgang Holzgreve (Switzerland)

Chief Executive:Professor Hamid Rushwan (Sudan/UK) (Ex-officio)

Readers are invited to refer items for consideration byemail to communications@figo.org no later than 2 March 2015 for the next issue.

The views expressed in articles in the FIGO Newsletterare those of the authors and do not necessarily reflectthe official viewpoint of FIGO.

Produced and edited by Alexandra Gilpin at the FIGOSecretariat © FIGO 2014.

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Group photo at the 100th Annual Conference of KSOG (September 2014)(Professor Rushwan 6th from left, front row)

(courtesy of KSOG)

(courtesy of the organisers)

Professor Rushwan with Professor Di Renzo in Florence(October 2014)

SPECIAL FEATURE

4 In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 2014

Maternal Near Miss Reviews in Indiaby Chittaranjan Purandare1, A Bhardwaj21 FIGO President-Elect (2015), Dean Indian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India2 Avni Health Foundation, Mumbai, India

India has made significant progress in reducingits maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from 212 to178 – however, the country has a long way togo to meet Millennium Development Goal No 5,reducing MMR to 150 by 2015, and thenational 12th plan goal of reducing MMR to100 by 2017. The Maternal Death Reviewprogramme launched by the Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI)in 2010, was a useful initiative to gatherdetailed information on various factors atfacility, district, community, regional andnational levels that were to be addressed toreduce maternal deaths. However, given thatthe number of maternal deaths has seen anoverall decline, the number of maternal deathsat each facility too has seen a decline, makingit difficult to get the full continuum of factorswhich may have contributed to the deaths.

Maternal Near Miss (MNM) cases generally occurmore frequently than maternal deaths, andtherefore a more reliable quantitative analysis canbe done which can provide a morecomprehensive profile of the health systemfunctioning. Identification of the obstacles andgaps in the health system and a co-ordinatedapproach to resolve these can ultimately lead toan improved health system.

Under the guidance of the GOI, a NationalTechnical Group (NTG) was constituted to guidethe GOI in considering the nationalimplementation of MNM. Between 2012–2013the NTG completed the task of firming up theMNM definition; criteria for selection of MNMcases; tools for reporting MNM; and the broadoperational plan for its implementation.

In the Indian context,Maternal Near Misswould be defined as ‘awoman who surviveslife threateningconditions duringpregnancy, abortion,childbirth or within 42days of pregnancytermination, irrespectiveof receiving emergencymedical/surgicalinterventions or

otherwise’. To identify an MNM case, criteriawere divided into four broad sections withadverse events under each section to facilitateidentification and tabulation of causes leading toMNM. The four sections and adverse eventswere: pregnancy-specific disorders(haemorrhage, sepsis, hypertension); pre-existingdisorders aggravated during pregnancy(anaemia, respiratory dysfunctions, cardiacdysfunction, hepatic dysfunction, endocrinaldisorders (diabetic ketoacidosis, thyroid crisis),neurological dysfunction, renaldysfunction/failure; pregnancy-specific medicaldisorders (liver dysfunction/failure, cardiacdysfunction/failure); and incidental and accidentalcauses of maternal death that could haveoccurred in pregnancy (accident/assault/surgicalproblems, anaphylaxis, infections, embolism andinfarction). Within each section and under eachadverse event a detailed list ofdisorders/conditions or complications, clinicalfindings (symptoms and signs), results ofinvestigations and interventions were listed. For acase to be listed as an MNM case it should meet

FIGO has recently completed its successfulWorkshop collaboration with the WorldDiabetes Foundation (WDF), with eventstaking place in Bangkok, Rome, Florence,Addis Ababa, Mexico and Shanghai at majorinternational conferences and congresses.

The great achievement of the project was thata substantial number of healthcareprofessionals – more than 1,000 specialistsand midwives – learned effective strategies totreat and control gestational diabetes, and alsoother non-communicable diseases, duringpregnancy.

The Workshops illustrated the timelyopportunities for acting during pregnancy toprevent the negative impact of non-communicable diseases, especially diabetes.There is increased understanding of thenegative impact that diabetes has on people’slives, life chances and overall wellbeing. Thereis strong evidence to indicate that over 76million women with diabetes or pre-diabetes(IGT) are at reproductive age and at risk ofhaving their pregnancy complicated byhyperglycaemia.

The Workshops’ objectives were to introduce

particular protocols to use during pregnancy(screening, diagnosis, and treatment in relation tomanaging diabetes and pregnancy, anaemia,obesity, etc).

Project Director Professor Luis Cabero-Roura,Chair of the FIGO Committee for CapacityBuilding in Education and Training, said: ‘Themain goal of the FIGO CBET Committee is tohelp promote the educational objectives of FIGOin the field of women’s sexual and reproductivehealth and rights. Our collaboration with WDFprovided a superb opportunity to educate andinform a large cross-section of professionals.

‘The main lesson learned from this worthwhileenterprise is that there are many opportunities tomake a significant impact on managing thiscondition, especially in low-income countries.

The most important impact will come fromWorkshop attendees returning to their owncountries and directly implementing the actionsoutlined.

‘It is thought that the project will have asuccessful continuation, because it isstraightforward to replicate the courses atdifferent levels of the healthcare system,especially for nurses and midwives.

‘According to our experience, nationalsocieties, universities and ob/gyn departmentscan be the best vehicles for continuation.However, all these organisations must have

formal guidelines toassist them inachieving their goals.’

Professor HamidRushwan, FIGO ChiefExecutive, added:‘FIGO and WDF werean excellent team inthe organisation andimplementation ofthese workshops –we look forward tofuture collaboration.’

1,000+ specialists benefit from FIGO-WDF Workshops

a minimum of three criteria in each section: oneeach from 1) clinical findings (either symptoms orsigns), 2) investigations carried out, and 3)interventions done to manage the case or anysingle criteria which signifies cardio respiratorycollapse.

Six pilot facilities were identified and a total of264 cases of MNM were reported. Of all 264cases, 111 (42.0 %) were admitted with severemorbidity and 103 (39.0%) were referred withsevere morbidity. Women were admitted to thefacilities with multiple disorders and haemorrhagewas the leading cause of MNM, be it during theearly or late pregnancy, intra-partum or post-partum phases. Once admitted, all of the womenreceived medical care, and a total of 488interventions were performed. Leadinginterventions included resuscitation for survival in24.6% (65/264), 18.2% (48/264) underwentlaparotomy for intractable post-partumhaemorrhage, 11.7% (31/264) had to be givenmechanical ventilation and in 10.2% (27/264) ofcases uterine evacuation was done. Atdischarge, 147 had completely recovered; 94cases had minor morbidity like wound infection,low platelets, tongue bites, UTI etc; three hadmajor morbidity, out of which two hadhemiparesis and one cerebral infarction; and in20 cases records were incomplete.

Lack of antenatal care and timely referral in30.7% (81/264) and 26.5% (70/264), delay inseeking treatment in 60.6% (160/264) and lack oftransport in 30.3% (80/264) were identified ascontributory factors for MNM.

Given the importance of MNM in providingvaluable information on factors contributingtowards reducing the MMR, the GOI is firming upthe policy and operational framework for thelaunch on MNM across India.

A detailed paper on this work, with fullreferences, can be viewed at the following link:www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.12942/pdf.

Professor C N Purandare (FIGO President-Elect)

Ajey Bhardwaj

Professor Luis Cabero-Roura

(courtesy of World Diabetes Foundation)

5

SUCCESS IN SRI LANKAReporting from Colombo on the FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOG Conference

Pre-term birth is focus of new FIGOWorking Group

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 2014

FIGO knows that prematurity constitutes acritical area of concern with regard to newborn,infant and child health.

To bolster its work in this critically important area,a new FIGO Working Group on Pre-term Birthhas been formed to examine the global trendsand potential reductions through effectiveinterventions in selected countries. The Groupwill also work closely with FIGO’s existingWorking Group on Best Practice on Maternal-Foetal Medicine in this regard. FIGO MemberSocieties will also play a part in facilitating accessto the relevant information needed to completethe analysis.

The first meeting of the new Group took place inLondon on 30 September–1 October 2014,chaired by Dr Joe Leigh Simpson (March ofDimes), and co-chaired by Professor Gian CarloDi Renzo (FIGO).

Professor HamidRushwan said:‘Prematurity is a real area of concern for healthcareprofessionals, and oftenneglected. Fifteenmillion pre-term birthsoccur every year (thenumber is rising); 60per cent of pre-termbirths occur in sub-Saharan Africa andSouth Asia; and 75 per

cent of deaths of premature babies could beprevented with feasible cost-effective care.

‘We look forward to working with March ofDimes – with whom we have a robustMemorandum of Understanding – which has

generously offered tosponsor the WorkingGroup activities.’

Dr Simpson said: ‘Asan obstetrician-gynecologist active inFIGO for over 30 years,and now Senior VicePresident for Researchand Global Programs,MOD – like FIGO, anNGO in official relationswith WHO – I amexcited to serve as

Chair of the new Working Group. Our first taskwill be studying best practices to determine howthese correlate with PTB rates among countriesof comparable resources. A robust timeline willgenerate results for the FIGO World Congress inVancouver next October.’

Dr Joe Leigh Simpson,Working Group ChairDr Jennifer Howse,

President, March of Dimes

(courtesy of March of Dimes)

(courtesy of March of Dimes)

‘This FIGO regionalmeeting (30 October –2 November 2014),organised with theSouth Asian Federationof Obstetrics andGynaecology (SAFOG)and the Sri LankaCollege of Obstetriciansand Gynaecologists(SLCOG), was a hugelysuccessful event on:“Unmet needs in

women’s health”. The brainchild of the FIGOPresident, Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, theconference was attended by over 700delegates from across the globe, with all majororganisations participating.

‘Eight well attended pre-conference workshopstook place on 29–30 October 2014 on a variety

of topics, includingmaternal deathsurveillance andresponse, advancedlife support inobstetrics, diagnosticand operativeendoscopy, andrecent advances infoetal medicine.

‘The conference wasinaugurated by the President of Sri Lanka, theHonorable Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa, whowelcomed a packed hall and stressed the needfor political will to save mothers. He highlightedthe various maternal health programmes beingsuccessfully rolled out in Sri Lanka.

‘Professor Arulkumaran, FIGO President, gave anoverview of FIGO and its work, highlighting thecurrent academic and social programmes and

projects of FIGO all over the world. Hecongratulated SLCOG for the wonderful workbeing done in Sri Lanka for women’s health, andalso for the successful organisation of theconference.

‘Organisations officially participating, representedby their key office bearers, included the UK’sRCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians andGynaecologists), FOGSI (the Federation ofObstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India),NESOG (the Nepal Society of Obstetricians andGynaecologists), JSOG (Japan Society ofObstetrics and Gynecology) and many others.

‘The expertly crafted Scientific Programmecovered a host of topics related to maternalhealth and diseases. This included: fertility care;the post-partum period; preterm birth;hysterectomy; heavy menstrual bleeding; foetalgrowth restriction; gestational diabetes;contraception; the challenge of maternal

mortality; urinaryincontinence; earlypregnancy; surgicalprocedures; post-partum haemorrhage;gender violence; unsafeabortion; fistula; MDG5; and medicaleducation and women’shealth.

‘This excellent andhighly praised eventdrew to a close on 2November, withemotional speechesand farewells from theFIGO President,Professor AlokenduChatterjee (Chairman ofthe OrganisingCommittee), andProfessor RohanaHaththotuwa(Organising Secretary).’

Report by Dr Narendra MalhotraFOGSI Representativeto FIGO and Editor ofthe SAFOG Journal

(courtesy of the organisers)

(courtesy of the organisers)

Dr Narendra Malhotra

PEOPLE

6

Tore Laerdal

Tore Laerdal

Tore Laerdal is Chairman of Laerdal Medical, aNorwegian family-owned company that is aleading supplier of training material andtherapeutic equipment for acute medicine. MrLaerdal is also Executive Director of the LaerdalFoundation for Acute Medicine, which providesfunding for practically-oriented MDG 4 andMDG 5 research projects.

In recent years, Mr Laerdal has turned his fullfocus to global health challenges, andestablished Laerdal Global Health, a not-for-profitcompany with the sole purpose of providinghighly affordable and culturally sensitive training

and therapeutic solutions to help reducematernal and newborn mortality in low-resourcesettings. Laerdal Global Health has partneredwith USAID and others in the Helping BabiesBreathe alliance, and with Jhpiego, FIGO, ICMand others in the Helping Mothers Surviveprogramme.

Tore, what is the ethos of The Laerdal Foundation? The Foundation (www.laerdalfoundation.org)pursues its mission of helping save lives byproviding financial support to practically-orientedresearch projects in the field of acute medicine. Itwas established in 1980 in collaboration with theUniversity of Oslo, and has, since that time,received a portion of the annual earnings of theLaerdal company. Over the years, some 2,000projects have received research grants. In recentyears, 50 per cent of the annual grants havebeen earmarked for projects aiming at helpingsave lives at birth in low-resource settings.

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 2014

Although FIGO bids farewell to ProjectManagers Upeka de Silva and AmataKwizera, it is delighted to welcome three newmembers of staff to the fold: Jessica Morris(Project Manager – the FIGO MisoprostolInitiative); Lilli Trautvetter (Project Assistant –the FIGO Fistula Initiative); and Maya Sethi(Project Assistant, March of Dimes).

Jessica holds a Master’s degree in InternationalDevelopment with a focus on gender, and hasover seven years’ experience in public healthresearch and project management. Withexpertise in maternal and child health, sexualand reproductive health and communicable

diseases, she has worked with research groupsfrom the University of California, San Franciscoand the University of Washington in the USA,South Africa and Zambia, and an NGO inMadagascar.

Lilli holds a Master’s degree in Social and CulturalPsychology, focusing on Health, Community andDevelopment. For her thesis she conductedresearch on how organisations can supportwomen who suffer from obstetric fistula pre-andpost-surgery in Eldoret, Kenya. She previouslyworked for Buttle UK, a charity supporting careleavers, and looked after children in gainingaccess to higher and further education.

Maya holds a Master’s degree in Gender andSocial Policy, and has worked previously atLumos and Anti-Slavery International, andproduced commissioned work for POPI andthe Community Support Association of Nepal.She will be supporting a range of activitiesacross our projects.

Professor Hamid Rushwan, FIGO ChiefExecutive, said: ‘While we are saddened tolose the talents of Upeka and Amata, we knowthat we will be ably supported by our newrecruits. I am sure that they will cross pathswith many Newsletter readers, and we lookforward to hearing them report on theiractivities in the months to come.’

FIGO welcomes new project recruits

Jessica: ‘I am very passionate aboutwomen’s sexual and reproductive healthand am thrilled to be working on someexciting projects with FIGO. I amparticularly looking forward to working withinternational experts to raise awarenessand disseminate evidence on the use ofmisoprostol for post-partumhaemorrhage.’

Lilli: ‘I became aware of FIGO through itsinternational journal while I was doingresearch for my dissertation. Having readso much about FIGO and its past projects,I am extremely excited to be a part of it.The Fistula Surgery Training Initiative is agreat project, and I cannot wait for it togrow even further.’

Maya: ‘I am very excited to have joinedthe FIGO team and I am looking forward toworking across a range of FIGO projectswith a host of interesting, inspiring andinnovative people, both at the FIGOSecretariat and internationally.’

What attracted you aboutcollaboration with FIGO?FIGO has a particular opportunity to help improvecare at birth in low-resource countries. We weretherefore thrilled when it decided to partner withJhpiego, ICM, AAP, UNFPA and Laerdal GlobalHealth in developing the Helping MothersSurvive – Bleeding after Birth educationalprogramme. We also much welcomed theinterest of FIGO and ICM to jointly conduct astudy to evaluate the impact of implementation ofthe course in two countries, and invited aproposal for doing so to be submitted to theFoundation board for consideration. Thecountries selected for the study are Kenya andTanzania.

How will your new project with FIGOevolve?The Helping Mothers Survive programme hasraised so much that FIGO and ICM have alreadybeen organising master training courses forparticipants from over 40 countries. We areoptimistic that the results of the implementationstudy may prove as significant as the results of asimilar major study for the Helping BabiesBreathe programme, conducted by the Ministryof Health in Tanzania. That study showed a 47per cent reduction in early newborn mortality. Ifanywhere near the same impact can bedemonstrated on maternal mortality after post-partum bleeding, this programme could make asignificant contribution to saving lives at birth.

L–R: Maya, Jessica and Lilli

7In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | December 2014

Diary DatesThe First European Club for Fetal Surgery(ECFS) Workshop: ‘Open fetal spina bifidarepair in Europe’14–16 January 2015, Sils i.E., Switzerlandwww.ecfs.chThe Pregnancy Meeting (2015 annualmeeting) (SMFM)2–7 February 2015, San Diego, CAwww.smfm.org/the-pregnancy-meetingExpert Fetal Medicine12–13 February 2015, London, UK (The Royal College of Physicians, London)www.symposia.org.uk/main/main.asp16th World Congress on HumanReproduction18–21 March 2015, Berlin, Germanywww.humanrep2015.com

FIGO accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the external event information. Inclusion of any event does not necessarily mean that FIGO either endorses or supports it (unless otherwise stated).

6th World Congress on Women’s MentalHealth22–25 March 2015, Tokyo, Japanwww.congre.co.jp/iawmh2015RCOG World Congress 2015/Joint RCOG/RANZCOG event12–15 April 2015, Brisbane, Queensland,Australiawww.rcog2015.com8th International DIP Symposium onDiabetes, Hypertension, Metabolic Syndromeand Pregnancy15–18 April 2015, Berlin, Germanywww.comtecmed.com/dip/20156th IVI International Congress23–25 April 2015, Alicante, Spainwww.comtecmed.com/ivi/2015/Default.aspx

IFFS/JSRM International Meeting 201526–29 April 2015, Yokohama, Japanwww.iffs2015.umin.jp21st World Congress on Controversies inObstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility (COGI)7–10 May 2015, Guilin, Chinawww.congressmed.com/cogichina/index.php/information10th EMAS Congress on Menopause andAndropause20–22 May 2015, Madrid, Spainwww.emas-online.org/home2015International UrogynecologicalAssociation’s 40th Annual meeting9–13 June 2015, Nice, Francewww.iugameeting.org

Vancouver 2015 latest!

Abstract submission deadline: March 15, 2015

FIGO EVENTS

As busy preparations continue for the next World Congress (4–9 October 2015), we are delightedto present the details of registration and abstract submission.

Please note, the FIGO 2015 OrganisingCommittee has made an effort to ensure thatregistration fees are in line with the previous twoFIGO Congresses.

Visit www.figo2015.org/registration-accommodation/registration/ for detailedregistration information.

Abstract submission guidelinesThe Scientific Programme Committee welcomesthe submission of abstracts for freecommunication sessions in the form of oral andposter presentations. The time allocated for eachoral presentation will be seven minutes, with threeadditional minutes for questions and discussion.

For full details of submission, please visitwww.figo2015.org/scientific-programme/congress-abstracts/.Visit www.figo2015.org for Congress updates.

EARLYOn or before May 15, 2015

REGULAROn or before

August 31, 2015

LATE/ONSITEAfter August 31, 2015

Congress registration open for business!

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FIGO on Facebook and Twitter!We are delighted to report that FIGO’s new Facebook page is taking shape – we urge all our Member Societies to ‘like’ us, post a comment or share a link tohelp cement relationships between FIGO and its global networks: www.facebook.com/FIGO.org.Follow FIGO on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest announcements: www.twitter.com/FIGOHQ.