Mr. Sunny Mannava, Ph.D Health Sciences – Public Health scholar of the School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad has been awarded a prestigious scholarship to attend the International Maternal and Newborn Health Conference (IMHHC), from 8th to 11th May 2023 at Cape Town, South Africa. IMNHC 2023 is organized by the AlignMNH Secretariat and the maternal newborn health community, and it is designed to create an opportunity to bring forward new evidence, create an opportunity for conversation, and bring together maternal newborn health efforts.
AlignMNH is a global initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development. The initiative was founded in 2020 to accelerate progress in improving maternal and newborn health (MNH) outcomes and prevent stillbirths around the globe. AlignMNH is supported by a Secretariat that is managed by Jhpiego, an international NGO focused on transformative health care solutions that save lives.
The University of Hyderabad through its School of Medical Sciences with Prof B.R. Shamanna and Mr. Sunny Mannava were Indian partners of a grant awarded by the Grand Challenges of the BMGF called “Re-Judge – Reducing rates of non-medically indicated Caesarean Section through an Open Access multi-media evidence and behavioural change programme for lawyers and judges”. One of the deliverables of this project was to look at fear of litigation. Hence, as a co-investigator of the ‘Re-Judge research study’, Sunny will participate in a panel discussion on ‘Health system and environmental influences on fear of maternity care litigation in India’.
Prof. Soo Downe OBE from University of Central Lancashire was the principal investigator, along with Dr. Ana Pilar Betran from WHO, and investigators from Dalhousie University – Canada, and Federal University – Brazil. Prof. Shamanna and Sunny completed the primary data collection and analysis of this multi-institutional study; and hosted a workshop and stakeholder meeting where key stakeholders from India and other countries participated.
While we would like to thank Prof. Soo Downe OBE, Dr. Ana Pilar for their collaboration and support for the project and to Sunny in securing this scholarship, it is a prestigious award for the school and the University of Hyderabad. The Dean of the School – Prof Geeta K Vemuganti congratulated the investigators for bringing laurels to the institution.