Maternal and Child Health

Muhammad Saddiq Ahmad ’21collaborated with local partners in the rural Chana community in Nigeria to build a community-based healthcare facility equipped with a solar-powered water supply system, ensuring access to clean water for the facility and residents. The facility aims to enhance access to quality maternal, child, and neonatal health services, thereby reducing maternal and neonatal deaths in the region.

As part of her work with Erie Health Centers, Emily MacDonald ’18 expanded reproductive health services to one of their school-based health centers and operationalized same-day contraceptive appointment access. This work was through the ICAN! Reproductive Justice Initiative in Illinois, United States.

Lindsey Pollaczek ’19 leads programs at the Fistula Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the devastating childbirth injury known as obstetric fistula. Obstetric fistula surgery is highly cost-effective compared with other interventions, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing fistula treatment as part of the global maternal health agenda.

After completing her fellowship year, Hope Rhodes ’19 became Associate Medical Director of the Children's Health Center-THEARC, where she has utilized community partnerships to co-lead numerous initiatives within the primary care medical home, including the Healthy Generations Program (serving adolescent parents and their children), reproductive health programs, and early childhood development efforts.

Nancy Rumaldo ’21 worked with the CASITA Project, which aims to reduce the risk of delay in early childhood development in children under two years old through community-based family coaching.

Joedrecka Brown Speights ’17 researched maternal and child health, including the Black-white mortality gap in the United States. She found that states are making different levels of progress in reducing Black infant mortality and that achieving racial equality in infant survival is possible, but it will require focusing on the determinants of progress and strategies for success.

Access to pediatric palliative care in Latin America is limited, especially outside hospitals. Zulema Garcia Ulloa ’23 studied eight community-based programs using home visits, telemedicine, clinics, and hospices to bridge this gap. Her research highlights key challenges and solutions for expanding care in low-resource settings.