COVID-19 and Maternal & Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings

June 10, 2020 | Featuring: Dr. Ribka Amsalu, Save the Children; Dr. Charles Ameh, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; Diana Garde, WHO; Dr. Diana Pulido, Save the Children

The health, economic, and social impacts of COVID-19 are felt worldwide and most critically by those who are at risk of exposure, severe forms of illness, mortality, and those facing the brunt of the economic downturn. There is a risk that existing inequalities in maternal and reproductive health outcomes will be exacerbated, if we don’t act now. Maternal and reproductive health is at the core of global and national health efforts to prepare, respond, and mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

This webinar discussed the primary and secondary impact of the pandemic on maternal and reproductive health and current mitigation efforts. An expert panel presented the latest epidemiology of the pandemic, provide current information about health care of pregnant women with COVID-19 and their newborns, and share programmatic adaptations to mitigate the secondary impact of COVID-19 on availability and use of maternal and reproductive health services from a global perspective and from experiences in Bangladesh and Colombia.

Msimamizi: Dr. Ribka Amsalu, MD, MSc, Okoa Watoto

Dr. Ribka Amsalu has over fifteen years of experience in humanitarian sexual and reproductive health and tropical medicine. Prior to her current position, as Senior Health Advisor at Save the Children, Dr. Amsalu worked with MSF and WHO. She is an active member of the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health (IAWG) in humanitarian settings.

Wawasilishaji

• Dr. Charles Ameh, Ph.D., MPH, FRSPH, FRCOG, FWACS, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: Dr. Charles Ameh is a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Head of the Department of International Public Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He is a member of the Case Management Technical Working Group of the Africa Taskforce for novel coronavirus. Dr. Ameh’s areas of research include adolescent reproductive health, emergency obstetric and newborn care, and quality of maternal and newborn healthcare.
• Diana Garde, CNM, MN, World Health Organization: Ms. Diana Garde is a certified nurse midwife, and currently a Sexual and Reproductive Health Officer with WHO in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Ms. Garde is currently involved with the Rohingya refugee influx, and has experience overseeing clinical maternity care operations in the Ebola response in West Africa.
• Dr. Diana Pulido, MD, MPH, MSc, Save the Children: Dr. Diana Pulido is a Health Program Manager with Save the Children, working to establish the sexual and reproductive health program for the Venezuelan migrant crises in Colombia. Dr. Pulido has a medical degree, a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Los Andes in Colombia and a Master’s degree of HIV and AIDS from the University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid-Spain. She has experience in public health focusing on research and health data analysis.