Regional maternal and child health conference opens in Kampala

PHOTO: Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, a founding director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child health at the Aga Khan University

Over 100 participants are expected to attend a symposium on maternal and child health,a two day event organised by the Aga Khan University's Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Makerere University and UNICEF.

The symposium that opens tomorrow and closes on Saturday, seeks to find viable solutions to health challenges related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in East Africa.

Some of the issues to be discussed include the relevance of SDG goals to East Africa, child health and development, maternal and perinatal health priorities.

 Professor Grace Edwards and Joseph Mwizerwa talk to the press. PHOTO: Godiver Asege

The SDGs are a new universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame their agendas and policies over the next 15 years.

The meeting will attract academia from within and outside and health experts including doctors, midwives and nurses among others.

Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, a professor and founding director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child health at the Aga Khan University, said the meeting will have several keynote speakers from Uganda, Canada and Kenya.

Joseph Mwizerwa, the academic head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Aga Khan University in Uganda, said nurses and midwives contribute 60 to 70 percent of the health workforce.

Dr. Grace Edwards, a professor of midwifery education and practice said that training of doctors, nurses and midwives on how they can help babies to survive started yestreday.