Health & Healthcare

Global Pro Bono is Moving the Needle on Maternal Health - #3blchat Recap

60-minute chat with USAID, Merck for Mothers, PYXERA Global and Jacaranda Health

Nov 24, 2014 5:30 PM ET

Campaign: #3blchat: Your Voice, on Corporate Social Responsibility

Read the original press release.

Read the Storify archive.

“We believe all women deserve access to high-quality, respectful #maternalhealth care #3blchat” – Jacaranda Health (tweet)

Jacaranda Health, along with PYXERA Global partnership including Merck, USAID and PHI to improve maternal healthcare in Kenya. Leaders from each of the organizations joined together to share their experiences of this pro bono collaboration to inspire others to think and act more globally. Along with our expert panel, other like-minded organizations, maternal health leaders, interested individuals, and even some Fellows who had been a part of the project in Kenya joined the #3blchat. It did not take long for the #3blchat stream to be taken over by attendee participation and panelist excitement. It was an intense 60-minute conversation that we can only hope to highlight in this blog.

The chat quickly took off discussing the need for access to quality, respectful maternal health care, two Merck fellows from this recent initiative in Kenya even attended to share their first hand experiences.

@jacarandakenya #3blchat @jillcroucher worked together on internal communications platform to increase staff unity and realtime updates - Leigh Anne Good (tweet)

Jill was a huge resource for us. MT @jillcroucher: @3blmedia @merckemployee @jillcroucher volunteered w @jacarandakenya this summer #3blchat - Jacaranda Health (tweet)

@jacarandakenya @MerckforMothers @Goodgirl813 We valued all that we learned in Kenya-what an experience! Thank you @jacarandakenya Best host – Jill Croucher (tweet)

The statistics regarding maternal health across the globe were eye opening and supported the need for more programs like this. Panelists and participants were eager to share these numbers to support the need for more initiatives like this one.

A8 #3blchat @pyxeraglobal It can be hard to show results, but #SMGL has seen 30% reductions of #maternalmortality in Uganda & 35% in Zambia – Merck for Mothers (tweet)

Did you know that clean water is essential for #maternalhealth? 529K maternal deaths are due to lack of clean water & sanitation #3blchat – Global Water (tweet)

Via UN &UNICEF 1/5 girls of primary-school age aren't in school vs 1/6 boys. A factor: lack of sanitation 4 girls reaching puberty #3blchat – Amira Polack (tweet)

Conversation took off between chat attendees as various organizations and individuals shared their own stories, it was great to see a Twitter chat come alive!

Many organizations also have pro bono efforts in place to support maternal health and other global healthcare needs. The day of the chat was also #worldtoiletday and the need for better sanitation was an important part of the day’s conversation.

Q11. @USAIDGH Today is #worldtoiletday Why does sanitation go hand-in-hand with maternal health? #3blchat – 3BL Media (tweet)

A11 Functional & clean toilets r essential for respect of women & their care providers #3blchat #worldtoiletday #wecantwait – USAID (tweet)

A11: Hygiene & sanitation highly affects nutrition, growth, development in health causing ncds especially among children. #3blchat – Chuti (tweet)

A11 #worldtoiletday illustrates the impact each of us can have on public health. #3blchat http://ow.ly/Eyb89 - GSK US (tweet)

Talking about other areas of need for pro bono support on a global scale. While healthcare providers are important, there are great needs for other skills as well, everyone can help move the needle in maternal health and other global scale initiatives.

A12a: Important to note how many points of expertise required for good #maternalhealth. Not just healthcare. #3blchat – PYXERA Global (tweet)

A12b: Skills in supply chain, distribution, HR, project mgmt, marketing, budgetting, etc can all positively impact #maternalhealth #3blchat – PYXERA Global (tweet)

A12c: Technical skills beyond medical care include water, sanitation, waste mgmt, wireless comms, information #maternalcare #3blchat – PYXERA Global (tweet)

This was an amazing hour that truly left us in awe – the passion for this topic was flowing through our computer screens. Many thanks to the teams at PYXERA Global, Merck, USAID, Jacaranda Health and PHI for coming together to share

Panelists and participants alike shared a wealth of resources. Below highlights some of the wonderful links, stories and studies shared. You can also explore the chat in our Storify recap to make sure you capture all of information shared.

3BL Media