GLOBAL HEALTH

Current Initiatives

AMCHP defines “global health” as seeking to achieve equity in all that we do, in a way that promotes the well-being of every individual worldwide. In recognizing the inherent value in learning from global health insights and perspectives to address potential gaps in the maternal and child health (MCH) evidence base, AMCHP launched its Global Health Initiative in 2020.

Through this initiative, AMCHP is committed to identifying and sharing culturally appropriate best practices, bright spots, and insights from the global community with Title V and its partners and aims to value and uplift community expertise and cultural diversity in public health practice as well as create a space for collaborative, transnational learning in MCH. AMCHP does this through three main activities: identifying and adding global MCH practices in the MCH Innovations Database, the Sharing Global Approaches, Creating Local Outcomes: MCH Global Health Webinar Series, and the case studies series.

Current Initiatives

AMCHP defines “global health” as seeking to achieve equity in all that we do, in a way that promotes the well-being of every individual worldwide. In recognizing the inherent value in learning from global health insights and perspectives, AMCHP launched its Global Health Workgroup in 2020. The workgroup is composed of MCH professionals from a variety of different organizations who share our commitment to amplifying and learning from work happening around the globe. The workgroup focuses on three main activities: identifying and adding global MCH practices in the MCH Innovations Database, the Sharing Global Approaches, Creating Local Outcomes: MCH Global Health Webinar Series, and the case studies series. As a part of this initiative, AMCHP is committed to identifying and sharing culturally appropriate best practices, bright spots, and insights from the global community with Title V and its partners and aims to value and uplift community expertise and public health practice as well as create a space for collaborative, transnational learning in maternal and child health.

Interested in joining the Global Health Workgroup? Email us at evidence@amchp.org!

The Global Health Committee is excited to present a webinar series, Sharing Global Approaches, Creating Local Outcomes, in order to bring public attention to global MCH issues and the advocates working to solve them. The series also aims to connect Title V leaders to global leaders in order to engage in collaborative learning. This webinar series will be accompanied with presentations, recordings, and case studies/written articles to further disseminate the topics and knowledge shared within the webinar.

Webinar 1: Earning Trust, Building Vaccine Confidence
Webinar 2: The Intersection of MCH & Climate Change
Webinar 3: Amplifying Birthworker Models of Care: Focusing on the Growing Maternal Mortality Crisis
Webinar 4: TBD – Fall 2022

AMCHP is working with the Global Health Workgroup to broaden the MCH Innovations Database to include MCH practices and policies from around the globe (with an emphasis on those coming from tribal communities, the U.S. jurisdictions, and those nations in the Global South) that can be applied to a domestic MCH context. The workgroup is in the process of solidifying a series of questions and criteria to assess the fit of potential practices and policies with the database and is planning to pilot this submission process with global practices that have already been replicated within the U.S. in Fall 2022.

AMCHP works closely with partners across a variety of organizations in its global health work. We partner closely with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Global Ideas for U.S. Solutions program which strives to learn from abroad to improve health and well-being in the United States. Their webinar series “Reimagined in America: What Can the World Teach Us about Building a Culture of Health?” explores how other countries have improved health and well-being, and hear how leaders and communities across the countries are turning promising practices and policies from overseas into practical solutions for the United States. The RWJF serves as thought partners in our global health as they are leaders in this space.

Interested in partnering with us? Let us know by emailing us at evidence@amchp.org.

AMCHP 2021 Conference theme “Global Meets Local: A Global Approach for Local Outcomes” centered on the reality of our global connectedness as we all experience a pandemic that continues to tragically take the lives of thousands and challenge our ideas of “normal”. AMCHP’s Global Health Workgroup took the opportunity to host a film screening and discussion session with the hopes of sharing international health issues that might resonate with our Title V audience and help them identify parallels to their own work. The film, The Revolutionary Optimists, displays themes of radical change through the eyes of school children in Kolkata, India as they become lead activists in their society through a community organization called Prayasam. While advocating for the wellbeing of their community, they battle prejudice from older generations, unequal gender norms, inefficient resources, and illness. As they are led by a determined community organizer (Amlan Ganguly, the director of Prayasam) who believes in the power of children as change agents, the students soon find their voice. Our members watched the realities of making change in a challenging environment and discussed what it means to be optimists while challenging the status quo.

GLOBAL HEALTH

Think Global, Act Local: Learning from Global Digital Innovations for Domestic MCH Outcomes: February 2024 Global Health Webinar

Recording from February 2024. AMCHP’’s Global Health Workgroup provides an opportunity to learn about digital and technological innovation and incorporation across the maternal and child health (MCH) field abroad, and its connection to domestic MCH work. Guest presenters with experience in the field shared their experiences in integrating digital and technological innovation for MCH populations in low- and middle-income countries, followed by a Q&A. Special guests: Dr. Smisha Agarwal PhD, Associate Professor of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Ana Mariana, MD MMSc-GHD, FRSPH, Lecturer in Global health and Social Medicine at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani, Bandung, Indonesia. Read More

Amplifying Birthworker Models of Care: June 2022 Global Health Webinar

Recording from June 2022. AMCHP's Global Health Workgroup provides background information on the global maternal mortlaity crisis and highlights opportunities for birth workers to intervenen and alleviate this crisis. Guest presenters from international maternal and child health organizations give an overview of their practice to support pregnant and birthing people, and prevent maternal deaths. Special guests: Andrew Herrera, MPH, MBA, Executive Director of Curamericas; Mario Rodriguez Valdez Ramirez, Executive Director of Casa Maternas, Guatemala; Juany Valdez, Head Nurse of Casa Maternas, Guatemala; Nick Pearson, Founder and Co-Executive Director of Jacranda Health; Chanel Porchia-Albert, Founder of Ancient Song Doula Services. Read More

The Intersection of Climate Change & Maternal and Child Health: Nov 2021 Global Health Webinar

Recording from November 2021. AMCHP's Global Health Workgroup defines climate justice and discusses the impact of climate change on maternal and child health. Guest speakers present on the impact of climate change in their populations of interest and outline how their activities promote maternal and child health and climate justice. Special guests: Jyotsna Krishnakumar, PhD, Director, Community Well Being Programme, WASH, Keystone Foundation; Camille Delgado-Lopez, Epidemiologist, Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies, Children with Special Needs Divison, Puerto Rico Health Department; Jack Dimatteto, Legistative Assistant for US Congress, Representative Lauren Underwood, Black Maternal Health Caucus. Read More

Earning Trust, Building Vaccine Confidence in Global and Local Contexts: Apr 2021 Global Health Webinar

Recording from April 2021. AMCHP's Global Health Workgroup provides information on the growth of vaccine hesitancy as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic and introduces guest presenters from global and domestic organizations that address vaccine hesitancy in their practice. Guest presenters provide context and examples from their COVID-19 responses and explain their strategies in combating vaccine hesitancy in their communities. Special guests: Anne Zink, MD, FACEP, Chief Medical Officer for the State of Alaska; Cecelia Thomas, JD, Senior Government Relations Manager, Trust for America's Health; Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH, President, Global Immunization, Sabin Vaccine Institute. Read More

Building Trust, Earning Vaccine Confidence: Lessons Learned from Global and Local Initiatives

As we have seen time and time again throughout this pandemic, vaccine hesitancy is an ever-evolving concern. Just when vaccination numbers are on the rise, an event like the recent temporary pause of the Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine can shake people’s confidence and trust. Given this, it is critical that public health professionals understand the roots of vaccine hesitancy and their role in building vaccine trust. To explore this topic, AMCHP’s Global Health Initiative held a webinar on April 16th, 2021 titled “Earning Trust, Building Vaccine Confidence: Lessons Learned from Global and Local Initiatives” which featured presentations from Dr. Bruce Gellin, President of Global Immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute; Cecelia Thomas, Senior Government Relations Manager at Trust for America’s Health; and Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer of the State of Alaska. The webinar explored successful global and local efforts at building vaccine confidence, looked deeply at vaccine hesitancy’s history and relationship with access, and explained the importance of meaningful partnerships and power sharing to build trust. Read More