Population Council Research that makes a difference

Session 101—Theme: Maternal and Newborn Health

We CAN Prevent Mortality from Preeclampsia-Eclampsia
Monday, 7 June
11:00–12:30 pm, Room 151A

One in 10 women suffers from preeclampsia. Associated maternal and newborn mortality has shown little decline in 75% of limited resource countries. This panel will describe how targeting interventions across the home to hospital continuum of care is succeeding in ensuring survival for mothers and their newborns, and how increased investments in these effort will accelerate the achievement of MDG 4 and 5.

Moderator

• Harshad Sanghvi, Vice President and Medical Director, JHPIEGO

Speakers

• Eleni Tsigas, President, Preeclampsia Foundation
• Kusum Thapa, Nepal Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society, Prashuti Griha Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Farhana Dewan, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Andrew Karlyn, Associate, Population Council
  
  

Session 115—Theme: Family Planning

Men Deliver: Men’s Role in Family Planning
Monday, 7 June
1:30–3:00 pm, Room 147B

Where is the evidence for engaging men in family planning? Do we know it works? What are men’s own family planning needs? How can we engage young men as community-based distribution agents? How can we scale up family planning interventions with men? Panelists will also discuss the achievements and challenges faced by the Young Men as Equal Partners programme in Zambia.

Moderator

• Beth Fredrick, Deputy Director, Advanced Family Planning Project, The Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health

Speakers

• Gary Barker, Director, Gender, Violence & Rights Team, International Center for Research on Women
• Holo Hochanda, Chief Technical Administrator, Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia
• John Townsend, Vice President, Reproductive Health Program, Population Council
• Aminata Touré, Chief, Gender, Human Rights Culture Branch, United Nations Population Fund
  
  

Session 116—Theme: Maternal and Newborn Health

Skilled Care at Birth
Monday, 7 June
1:30–3:00 pm, Room 144A/B

A key intervention for preventing maternal and neonatal death and disability is the provision of skilled care at birth, whether in a facility or at home. This session follows the trends on skilled care of the past three decades and looks at practical approaches that work!

Moderator

• Monir Islam, Director, Making Pregnancy Safer, WHO

Speakers

• Lale Say, WHO
• Pashtoon Afzar, President, Afghanistan Midwifery Association
• Charlotte Warren, Associate, Population Council /Kenya
• Anne Hyre, JHPIEGO
  
  

Session 135—Theme: Youth

Reaching Marginalized Adolescent Girls
Monday, 7 June
3:15–4:15 pm, Room 147B

Moderator

• Sylvia Wong, Technical Specialist, Adolescents/Youth, UNFPA

Speakers

• Mima Perisic, Program Specialist, UNICEF
• Tamara Kreinin, Executive Director of Women and Population, UN Foundation
• Talent Jumo (TBC), Young Women’s Leadership Initiative (Zimbabwe)
• Maribel Gutierrez Lopez, Mentor, Abriendo Oportunidades program, Population Council (Guatemala)
• A. Virginia Camacho, Medical Officer- Sexual and Reproductive Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Health, WHO
  
  

Special One-Day Symposium—Technology as Catalyst for Social Transformation: A Fifty Year Retrospective on the Birth Control Pill

Plenary: Modern Contraception Comes of Age
Tuesday, 8 June
8:30–10:30 am

Evolution of Contraception
Modern contraception has evolved since the introduction of the pill to include a range of methods. How are these products chosen for family planning programs and how well do they meet user needs?

Moderator

• Gill Greer, Director-General, International Planned Parenthood Federation
  

Speakers

• Gloria Quansah Asare, Acting Director of Family Health, Ghana Health Service
• Ward Cates, President of Research, Family Health International
• Régine Sitruk-Ware, Executive Director of Research and Development, Population Council

Watch a video of a press conference following the plenary (offsite link).

Session 314—Theme: Health of Girls and Women

Transforming Abortion Access: Can Medical Abortion Live up to its Promise?
Wednesday, 9 June
11:00–12:30 pm, Room 159A/B

Access to medical abortion is increasing worldwide. Medical abortion is safe and effective, and regimen improvements have simplified service delivery and made it more user-friendly. Panelists will review recent advances and ways to improve medical abortion regimens and services, and share experience with the method and its role in expanding access to safe abortion in a range of country contexts.

Moderator

• Patricio Sanhueza, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, Federal District Secretary of Health, Mexico

Speakers

• Hilary Bracken, Senior Program Associate, Gynuity Health Projects
• Shireen Jejeebhoy, Senior Associate, Population Council
• Mulat Fanta, Marie Stopes International
  
  

Session 316—Theme: Health of Girls and Women

Innovative Strategies to Improve Services and Increase Access
Wednesday, 9 June
1:30–3:00 pm, Room 146C

Expanding access to safe abortion services requires multifaceted strategies to address a range of barriers to access; there are many common access barriers, but strategies must be grounded in the local context. Panelists will share their experiences developing, implementing, and evaluating innovative strategies to improve access, highlighting lessons learned and the potential for scale-up or implementation in other settings.

Moderator

• Getachew Bekele, Senior Advisor, Marie Stopes International and Chair, African Network for Medical Abortion

Speakers

• Temple Cooley, Reproductive Health Technical Adviser, Population Services International
• Dan Grossman, Senior Associate, Ibis Reproductive Health
• Debashis Sinha, State Program Officer, Ipas
  
• Marieke van Dijk, Regional Associate, Reproductive Health Program, Population Council
  "The role of research for expanding access to safe abortion services: The case of Mexico City"
  
  

Session 323—Theme: Health of Girls and Women
Panel co-convened by International Planned Parenthood Federation/London and the Population Council

Placing Gender and Rights at the Heart of Sex and HIV Education: Practical Resources and Innovative Programs
Wednesday, 9 June
1:30–3:00 pm, Room 154AB

Moderator

• Vicente Dìaz, Deputy Director, IPPF Western Hemisphere Region
  
  

Speakers

• Bene E. Madunagu, Co-Founder and Chairperson, Executive Board of Girls' Power Initiative
  "Reflecting on the role of gender in GPI’s work"
• Nicole Haberland, Associate, Poverty, Gender, and Youth Program, Population Council
  "Research/rationale for why gender matters in sexuality education"
• Maura Minsky and Tiauna Clark, Scenarios USA
  "Scenarios program/youth participation"
• Doortje Braeken, Senior Adviser Adolescents/Young People, International Planned Parenthood Federation
  "It’s All One Curriculum: A new paradigm in sexuality education"
  

This session will

• Present evidence that adolescents who develop a belief in gender equality have better sexual health outcomes.
• Introduce two exciting programs implementing a "social studies" approach to sex ed in schools (in Nigeria and USA); includes teen presenter and a short film.