Global health systems strengthening: FIGO's strategic view on reducing maternal and newborn mortality worldwide.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate that successful health systems strengthening (HSS) projects have addressed disparities and inequities in maternal and perinatal care in low-income countries. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review covered the period between 1980 and 2022, focusing on successful HSS interventions within health systems' seven core components that improved maternal and perinatal care. RESULTS: The findings highlight the importance of integrating quality interventions into robust health systems, as this has been shown to reduce maternal and newborn mortality. However, several challenges, including service delivery gaps, poor data use, and funding deficits, continue to hinder the delivery of quality care. To improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, a comprehensive HSS strategy is essential, which should include infrastructure enhancement, workforce skill development, access to essential medicines, and active community engagement. CONCLUSION: Effective health systems, leadership, and community engagement are crucial for a comprehensive HSS approach to catalyze progress toward universal health coverage and global improvements in maternal and newborn health.

The role of obstetrics and gynecology national societies during natural disasters.

When a natural disaster occurs, such as an earthquake, floods, or a tsunami, the international response is quick. However, there is no organized strategy in place to address obstetric and gynecological (ob/gyn) emergencies. International organizations and national ob/gyn societies do not have an organized plan and rely on the good will of volunteers. Too often, local specialists are ignored and are not involved in the response. The massive earthquake in Haiti in 2010 exemplifies the lack of coordinated response involving national organizations following the disaster. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) engaged rapidly with Haitian colleagues in response to the obstetric and gynecological emergencies. An active strategy is proposed.

The role of health professional associations in the promotion of global women's health.

Health professional associations, especially those from countries with the highest maternal death burden, have vital roles to play in improving maternal and newborn health and in achieving the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. Possessing the knowledge, skills, and influence to positively impact practice at the service delivery level, they can also advocate for change at the policy level and lobby for higher priority and greater investment in the maternal and newborn health field at the national level. The ability of professional associations to assume this leadership is nevertheless contingent on their institutional capacities to achieve planned goals and objectives in support of their organizational mission and strategic priorities. Since 1998, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) has been supporting the capacity development efforts of peer professional associations in low-resource countries. SOGC's work in this specific area has led it to develop and pilot an Organization Capacity Improvement Framework (OCIF) that guides professional associations, incrementally, in successive cycles of capacity development. Building on capacity developed within previous capacity-building cycles, this article summarizes and reports on the recent outcomes of the Asociación de Gynecoloígia y Obstetricia de Guatemala's (AGOG) organizational development efforts and the impact they have had in positioning the association as an important contributor in national efforts to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes in the country.

Development of health professional associations' organizational capacities in low-income countries: myth or reality in Haiti?

Over the last decade, the Société haïtienne d'obstétrique et de gynécologie (SHOG) has positioned itself as a key player in the maternal and neonatal health agenda in the country. This transformation arose from the association's commitment to strengthening its organizational capacities in order to enhance its operations and consolidate its contribution to the national efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality. The SHOG benefited from the SOGC's technical assistance to reinforce its organizational capacities, support that it received as part of the SOGC Partnership Program from professional associations working in low-income countries. We describe the results of the SHOG's organizational assessments in 2008 (in the middle of the five-year cycle) and in 2006, according to the organizational capacity development approach promoted by the SOGC. A comparison of the 2008 and the 2006 assessment results shows that the SHOG progressed substantially during that period, shifting from "basic-moderate" to "moderate" regarding its organizational capacity, its operational capacities and its relationships with other organizations, including the way it is perceived by interested parties involved in the maternal and neonatal health agenda. The SHOG's experience shows that the SOGC's approach to capacity development can assist professional associations committed to reinforcing their organizational capacities in a tangible way. This will enhance their contribution to the national efforts pertaining to maternal and newborn health in their country.