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IDEAS is a measurement, learning and evaluation project based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The project aims to find out “what works, why, and how” for maternal and newborn health in three low-resource settings in Nigeria, India, and Ethiopia. The IDEAS team includes 20 research and professional support staff, living in Abuja, Addis Ababa, London, and New Delhi, who have been working since 2010 with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and with the foundation’s implementation partners.

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Back in 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle developed a new strategy for the coming years, outlining how they might achieve their long term aim of fewer maternal and child deaths in Nigeria, Ethiopia and the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They chose to focus on these settings for two reasons: firstly, the alarmingly high death rate among mothers and children, largely due to preventable causes, and secondly, the very high numbers of mothers and children. Uttar Pradesh, for example, has over 200 million people, making it comparable to Brazil which is the fifth largest country in the world.

 

Respectful and equitable health services for women Copyright: iStock

Respectful and equitable health services for women Copyright: iStock

 

In 2010, the foundation approached the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with a request to support  the measurement, learning and evaluation of their new maternal and child health strategy. The IDEAS project
was developed to respond to this request. Since 2010, the IDEAS team have worked closely with collaborators in north-east Nigeria, Ethiopia, and India
to improve understanding of “what works, why and how” in these settings for maternal and newborn health. This report outlines their approach, giving highlights of the work. We hope you enjoy reading it.

Professor Betty Kirkwood, Professor Sir Andy Haines,
Professor Dame Anne Mills, Professor Kara Hanson
and Professor Simon Cousens
IDEAS Strategic Management Group
2010–17

 

Authors

Profile picture of Professor Joanna Schellenberg
Professor Joanna Schellenberg

IDEAS Co-Principal Investigator and Professor

Profile picture of Professor Tanya Marchant
Professor Tanya Marchant

IDEAS Principal Investigator and Professor

Profile picture of Dr Bilal Avan
Dr Bilal Avan

Associate Professor

Profile picture of Professor Elizabeth Allen
Professor Elizabeth Allen

Professor in Medical Statistics

Profile picture of Emma Beaumont
Emma Beaumont

Research Fellow in Medical Statistics

Profile picture of Dr Della Berhanu
Dr Della Berhanu

Assistant Professor

Profile picture of Dr Meenakshi Gautham
Dr Meenakshi Gautham

IDEAS India Country Coordinator and Research Fellow

Kate Sabot

IDEAS Research Assistant and DrPH student 2013-2016

Profile picture of Dr Neil Spicer
Dr Neil Spicer

Associate Professor

Profile picture of Dr Nasir Umar
Dr Nasir Umar

IDEAS Nigeria Country Coordinator and Assistant Professor

Profile picture of Shirine Voller
Shirine Voller

IDEAS Project Manager (on secondment to KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme 2016 - 2017)

Profile picture of Suzanne Welsh
Suzanne Welsh

Project Manager

Profile picture of Deepthi Wickremasinghe
Deepthi Wickremasinghe

Research Fellow

More info