Matt Griffith (left), Banyan Global Associate, presents on the USAID-funded SMH project at the Fifth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research.

The Fifth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR) took place in Liverpool, UK from October 8-12, 2018. As one of the most important annual conferences for individuals and organizations working to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes across the world, HSR brought together approximately 2,000 researchers, policymakers and practitioners. Matt Griffith, Banyan Global Associate, presented a poster on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Saving Maternity Homes in Ghana, Innovate for Health (SMH) project titled, “Revitalizing Private Maternity Homes in Underserved Areas of Ghana” (poster 310) at 3:30pm on Thursday, October 11 at ACC Liverpool. The SMH effort was recognized as a winner of the HSR poster competition.

The SMH project, which concluded in February 2018, developed an innovative approach to ensuring and expanding access to quality maternal, child and newborn health (MNCH) services. The approach focused on technical assistance to private maternity homes (PMHs) through providing clinical support, business strengthening support, and facilitating PMH ownership and management “transformations” involving PMHs acquiring new owners, managers, or skilled clinical personnel. The project also included an extensive focus on research and learning, in order to assess the effectiveness of this approach. Endline research revealed encouraging results, including a 51 percent increase in MNCH visits at transformed facilities, 65 percent of transformed facilities expanding service offerings, and 46 percent of transformed facilities transitioning into a larger clinic or health center. The poster outlined the SMH approach and presented key findings and results.