Wits experts confer on maternal and child health issues

By Vivienne Rowland

26 October 2012

Experts in the field of maternal and child heath will gather next week at the Multilateral Association for Studying Health Inequalities and Enhancing North-South and South-South Cooperation (Mascot) meeting to be held in Johannesburg from 29 to 31 October 2012.

Involving researchers from the Wits Centre for Health Policy and funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7), Mascot member countries’ experts in health inequalities in low and middle income countries will present and discuss their findings after the preliminary research conducted in seven African and five Latin American countries and an overall look of Europe.

The meeting will consist of several presentations by academic experts from South Africa, Ghana, Mozambique, Tunisia, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Tanzania, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Brazil, touching on key learnings and issues on maternal and child health.

“Research systems in South Africa do not match the needs in the country. We have a lot of problems, but no organisation that points us in the right direction to focus on the priorities. The European Union or US funders thus take the lead, but with Mascot we have a meeting of experts peer-reviewing what we have done and how we can readjust the focus on maternal and child health, and best tackle inequities in health in these groups. With better research and policy interventions in South Africa, much could be done to narrow the startling gaps in maternal and child health between the rich and poor,” says Prof. Matthew Chersich, Associate Professor at the Centre for Health Policy.

The researchers from the Wits Centre for Health Policy will present initial findings of maternal health interventions to reduce inequalities.

The meeting takes place at the Crowne Plaza Rosebank, corner Tyrwhitt and Sturdee Avenues, Rosebank.

For media queries, contactVivienne.Rowland@wits.ac.zaon (011) 717-1017.

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