The Maternal Health Portal, the website for easy access to the latest literature on maternal health, is renewed. The heart of the portal home page is a search box that provides access to the portal’s database with selected, freely accessible e-publications and websites. Social media have become increasingly integrated within the new concept. New documents, news and meetings are disseminated to 'subscribers’ on Twitter and / or Facebook. Because these messages are also available via feeds on the portal homepages they are equally available for those who do not follow Twitter and / or Facebook.

Women Deliver is asking for you to vote for your favorite 50 inspiring ideas and solutions that deliver for girls and women. From the top 125, voters may choose their 10 favorites per category. The 50 winners will be announced on International Women’s Day, March 8.

For voting and more information, go to the website http://www.womendeliver.org/updates/entry/voting-for-the-women-deliver-5...

A new FP7 research project, the 'Missed Opportunities in Maternal and Infant Health' (MOMI), focuses on postpartum health care delivery for mothers and newborns in four sub-Saharan countries (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique) throughout the first year after childbirth. The project is coordinated by the International Centre for Reproductive Health of the Ghent University (Belgium). More information: http://www.momiproject.eu

The school of midwifery in Makeni, Sierra Leone, became two years old in January 2012. The school opened officially on 15 January 2010 and in January 2012, a first batch of 69 students passed their state Professional Midwife exams. 22 students passed with credits. The formal graduation ceremony will take place on 14th April 2012. A second set of 65 students is currently in training to graduate end 2012, and a third set of 70 students is expected to start training in March 2012.

This symposium, on 20th April 2012 in Amsterdam, is organized to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Working Party on International Safe Motherhood & Reproductive Health.

The first session of the symposium will look at the effects of 25 years of Safe Motherhood Initiative for maternal and perinatal health and the progress in up scaling obstetric care in low income countries. The second part focuses on new developments using the three phases of delay in reaching health care as the overlying theme.

For more information, visit http://www.safemotherhood.nl/symposium-2012

The International Journal of MCH and AIDS (IJMA) invites contributions from public health practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and experts in maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS around the world for its inaugural issue scheduled to publish in June 2012.

Although not directly related to maternal health, we like to point Meshwork partners to the Cordaid HIV/AIDS award 2011 with the theme "Linking Community- and formal health and care services for people living with HIV".

Please follow this link to see all the news items made by Global Health Television on the ICM Congress. Do not forget to view the interview with the Presidents of SLMA and KNOV and another twin-couple on the Twin-to-Twin project. After clicking the link, you can select the item on the right side of the page.
http://www.globalhealthtv.com/#/v/twinning_midwives_from_the_netherlands...

“Midwifery practice should be evidence-based and strengthened by research” states Professor Soo Down in the last plenary session during the 29th triennial ICM Congress in Durban. The MDG5 Meshwork for Improving Maternal Health contributes to evidence based policy and practice through its research activities in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

During the 29th ICM Triennial Congress in Durban, MDG5 Meshwork partners are hosting a very interactive and popular booth. On Wednesday, MDG5 Meshwork partner Cordaid had invited partners from Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Malawi to present the creative ways they have found to address maternal health. Sierra Leone and Afghanistan have the highest maternal mortality in the world. Malawi has the worst indicators in its region. Behind the bad indicators, are the very real stories of women that needlessly die in the process of giving life.