International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

The FIGO LOGIC Initiative (Leadership in Obstetrics and Gynecology for Impact & Change) was formerly the Maternal and Newborn Health Initiative

Under revision. 

Background
Maternal and newborn health constitutes a major international health and development issue in low-resource countries. Concerned that Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5), to improve maternal health, has not made significant progress, FIGO’s Initiative - ‘Improving maternal and newborn health in low-resource countries through strengthening the role of obstetric and gynecological national associations’ - will work towards the goal of reducing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity.    

About the FIGO Initiative
FIGO is collaborating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on a project to improve the lives and health of women and newborns in the world’s most underserved regions.  The project will focus on FIGO member associations in low- and middle-resource countries in Asia and Africa. 

Project Team
Professor David Taylor - Project Director
Dr Bart Vander Plaetse - Senior Management Specialist
Helena Lindborg - Project Manager

Project Period
Five years (ending in 2013).

Project Purpose
Over five years, FIGO hopes to enable these member associations to play a catalytic role in making positive changes in policy and practice and improve maternal and newborn health services for underserved populations. While the importance of national health professional organisations in tackling maternal mortality in low-resource countries has been noted, it could be argued that insufficient consideration has been given to the readiness and capacity of these organisations to take on this role. This project will help address this, allowing FIGO and its member associations to work more effectively towards saving the lives of mothers and newborns. The project has begun with a phase of development in eight African and Asian countries  - Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, India and Nepal - and will be extended to a further seven countries in a phase of South-to-South collaboration.     

Resources
See country sections.