In 24 months, 1,919 babies have been delivered in government health centers in these two communities, and only one of them has been found HIV-positive. That’s a pretty good performance, even in a country with a relatively low 1.5% adult HIV prevalence.

I grew up in a small village in Kenya. I remember witnessing mothers delivering babies on the roadside while attempting to trek to a health facility miles away.

Maureen Kanyiginya is a young midwife with a gentle and confident presence. Meet her and others through our new video series.

For almost a decade, I have been enamored of the advanced fistula care being delivered in Ethiopia. My interest in fistula care first arose after I read a 2003 article in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof regarding the famed Hamlin hospitals.

The New York Times has recently published a series on “Small Fixes: Low-cost innovations that can save thousands of lives.”

I would like to join the chorus of accolades for all the finalists of the Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development, but especially Duke University. In response to this challenge, Duke researchers designed a heat-sealed pouch, which stores lifesaving HIV medication in doses appropriate for infants. The pouch is designed to be administered to a newborn during the first week of life, including following a homebirth and by a nonclinician, with the aim of preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission.

“If we want to stop these women and babies dying, we need to invest in skilled care,” declared Flavia Bustreo, assistant director-general of family and community health at the World Health Organization. Bustreo’s declaration came on the heels of the release of the WHO’s State of the World’s Midwifery 2011: Delivering Health, Saving Lives.

The first time I met them, they seemed like any other group of health workers—pleasant faces looking up to greet me even though I had interrupted their meeting.

Innovation, technology, and young people have been at the forefront of my mind lately.

It started with my engagement with the many talented students last month at the Clinton Global...

Transitioning “fistula work” is not easy. Treating obstetric fistula is a service by grace alone, especially if you’re a government worker.