The Role of Professional Organisations

in Multi-Disciplinary Care

Professor Hamid Rushwan

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Health professional associations

Have a vital role to play in multi-disciplinary healthcare

Have an important role in efforts to achieve the MDGs 4 and 5

What can professional associations do?

Influencing policy Standard-setting Promotion of self assessments and audits Awareness raising and team building Continuing medical education for members Working in partnership

Reducing Maternal Mortality

The Continuum of Care

Providing quality care across the lifecycle:

A professional responsibility.

Capacity-building of health professional associations

Capacity-building is essential if health professional associations are to be able to undertake their roles effectively

This is especially needed in low-resource countries where the vast majority of maternal, newborn and child mortality and morbidity occur

FIGO has a vision that women of the world achieve the highest possible standards of Physical, Mental, Reproductive and

Sexual Health and Wellbeing throughout their lives.

The International Federation of

Gynecology and Obstetrics

Vision

Recognising the importance of collaborative efforts for advancing women’s health and rights, FIGO is committed to strengthening partnerships with other international professional organisations, UN agencies, and the public/private sector to achieve its objectives.

Commitment

FIGO/Gates MNH Project To improve policy and practice by strengthening FIGO member

associations and using their position and knowledge to facilitate and contribute to these improvements, leading to better maternal and newborn health for under-served populations in low- and middle- resource countries.

Objectives

Strengthen organisational capacity of FIGO MAs in 8 African or Asian low- or middle-resource countries with high maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity to play an active role in implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national maternal health plans

To enable professional associations to undertake advocacy activities aimed at raising awareness and influencing policy on issues related to maternal and newborn health at the national or regional level

Objectives cont.

Promote South-South collaboration between the 8 initial countries and 7 additional countries through the establishment of knowledge-sharing processes

(workshops, ongoing technical exchanges) - making best use of evolving communications technologies

Project Description A 5 year project involving African and Asian FIGO member

associations Phase 1: 5 years involving 8 countries Phase 2: Pairs initial 8 countries with 7 additional countries in years

4 and 5 The project will be administered from the FIGO head office and will

employ a full-time Project Director and Project Manager, as well as a Financial/Administrative Officer.

Eligibility Criteria Phase 1: A low- or middle-resource country/territory, from Africa or Asia, with high

maternal and newborn mortality either in high rates or absolute contribution overall to the global burden

A Member Association that is willing to participate and is committed toward goals and objectives

Phase 2: Initial criteria applies MA willing to collaborate with one of the original 8 countries/territories to

achieve the project’s goal and objectives Phase 2 Criteria will be reviewed at some point in the project, based on

initial 8 country experience

Project Activities

Briefing and Situational Analysis Situational analysis of MNH in each intervention country,

including policies, plans and stakeholders Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of Health

Outlining roles and responsibilities – starting point and guiding documents

Identification and implementation of collaborative efforts Working with the private health sector to promote standards of

care and accessibility of MNH services, especially for low income and under-served populations

Activities cont. Development of collaborative relationships

• With the corporate sector, to secure future funding for the implementation of programs aimed at providing effective MNH care and accessibility in poor settings.

Multidisciplinary maternal death and near-miss review committees• Consisting of obstetrics and gynecology specialists,

midwives, paediatricians, anaesthesiologists, medical officers and nurses, amongst others, will be established.

• Alignment of strategies across health professional groups to ensure a consistent and thorough implementation of evidence-based practices as part of the national MNH policy

Activities cont. Review of available data on the status of health human

resources (HHR) in maternal and newborn health in each participating country • With the involvement of academia, MoH and MOE• Development recommendations for national strategy• Address recruitment, accreditation, training, professional

development, task shifting and retention

National MAs will develop and adapt evidence-based guidelines and protocols for MNH practices • 6 minimum with translation• To be launched at a national workshop and then printed and

disseminated to public and private facilities

Activities cont. Institutional Strengthening of Member Associations

Aim: Strengthening the capabilities of national obstetrics and gynecology associations by using SOGC

Organizational Capacity Improvement Framework Components Include:

• Organizational capacity assessment• Data Analysis• Organizational capacity improvement plan• Implementation and performance measurements

Each MA will be given support for recruiting a part-time Project Coordinator and a full-time Admin/Fin officer. Office space will be provided by the MA.

Aims and objectives:• To reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and

mortality and contribute to the achievement of MDG goals 4 and 5 in a series of low-income countries

• Build and sustain the capacity of the ob/gyn and midwifery societies in the participating developing countries to conduct essential projects relevant to the promotion of safe motherhood and the improvement of maternal health

FIGO Saving Mothers and Newborns Project

Major Initiatives:Saving Mothers and Newborns Projects

Midwifery societies Ministries of HealthCivil society organisations Other relevant stakeholders

Partnerships designed to:

Ensure harmonization of the project with the health policies and practices in the countries

Proper implementation and sustainability of the tenets of the project

Haiti Moldova Kenya Nigeria Kosovo

Uganda Pakistan Ukraine Peru Uruguay

Positive Examples: The Role of Professional Organisations – Uganda

In 1998 the Association of Obstetricians/Gynecologists of Uganda (AOGU) joined in partnership with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC).

2 associations worked together, secured funding for the Save the Mothers project. The program and the increased capacity AOGU has led to further grants for other programs.

To date AOGU has trained over 250 health professionals in emergency obstetric care through professional development initiatives such as ALARM International.

The association developed a strong infrastructure, capitalized on the unique role of health professionals to influence policy and worked in collaboration with like organisations.

Positive Examples: Societe Haitien de Obstetrique et Gynecologie

Despite years of instability and insecurity, the SHOG has continued to offer its members continuing professional education related to emergency obstetric care. The SHOG has worked with the Saving Mothers and Newborns Program and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada to build organisation capacity and technical skills. As a result, regrouping and organisation of the SHOG post earthquake has been faster and more effective.

The Role of Professional Associations

“Putting in place the health workforce needed for scaling up reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services is an

urgent task, and we believe that the support of health professional organizations will be crucial.“

– UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid

Thank you for listening…