Our Mission

91社区 creates and delivers transformative health care solutions that save lives. In partnership with national governments, health experts and local communities, 91社区 builds health providers鈥� skills and develops systems that save lives now and guarantee healthier futures for women and their families.

Our Vision

Self-reliant countries, healthy families and resilient communities. All women and families, regardless of where they live, having access to high-quality, lifesaving health care delivered by competent and caring providers.

Our History

Responding to the Changing Needs of Women and Families Worldwide

Since its founding in 1973, 91社区 has been innovating to save the lives of women and families worldwide. From the first day, 91社区 has been asking the question: How can we make lifesaving services available and accessible to the people who need them鈥攁ll over the world?

Dr. Theodore M. King, an early innovator and champion for women鈥檚 health, was the moving force behind the founding of 91社区, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. In the early 1970s, King recognized the need to make physicians, nurses and administrators from developing countries aware of health breakthroughs. Originally known as the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics, the organization was funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Under King鈥檚 leadership, as a founder, trustee and later president of 91社区 for 14 years, the organization conducted a steady stream of programs throughout the developing world.

How Did We Get from There to Here?

Early on, 91社区 established itself as a leader in health training. Over the years鈥攖o respond more effectively to the needs of individual countries鈥�91社区 became increasingly field-based and established its first field office in Kenya in 1993. Today, 91社区 has field offices in more than 30 countries worldwide. Similarly, 91社区鈥檚 programming areas have expanded to meet changing needs in the field. 91社区 has expertise in maternal and child health, infection prevention and control, HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases.

91社区鈥檚 work has also expanded to address health policy and guidelines and to support health systems strengthening. For example, in 1996 in Brazil, 91社区 launched a performance and quality improvement approach, now known as Standards-Based Management and Recognition (SBM-R), which has since been implemented in 30 countries. SBM-R empowers health workers and facilities to improve the performance and quality of their services by providing them with the tools and methods they need to make decisions, solve problems and innovate at the local level.

Innovations in Training Methods and Technologies

In 1986, 91社区 pioneered a competency-based training (CBT) approach that emphasizes learning by doing. CBT focuses on how the participant performs and promotes the trainer鈥檚 ability to encourage learning. 91社区 also introduced the use of anatomic models for 鈥渉umanistic training.鈥� To minimize risk to clients, learners first practice on models until they achieve competency. In 1995, a clinical training skills manual鈥攖he cornerstone of 91社区鈥檚 training approach鈥攚as published. Using a systematic 鈥渢raining of trainers鈥� approach, 91社区 has created a global network of qualified physician, nurse and midwife trainers.

As early as 1984, 91社区 collaborated with the University of the West Indies to deliver health courses, via satellite, to six islands in the Caribbean. In 1987, 91社区 sponsored a global meeting on health education and technology with the World Health Organization (WHO) and introduced computer-assisted instruction to simulate clinical situations in several of its US-based courses. Today, 91社区 continues to explore new learning technologies: mobile phones in Afghanistan, a computer-based learning management system in Ethiopia, computer-based training in Ghana, a distance learning program in Zambia.

Practical Solutions for Low-Resource Settings

91社区 has been at the forefront in promoting evidence-based practices that can protect health care professionals, staff and clients from potentially life-threatening infections. To this end, 91社区 has tested and introduced practical, low-cost infection prevention procedures that can be implemented effectively in settings with limited resources.

In developing countries, cervical cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. In 1995, 91社区 began research with the University of Zimbabwe to find a low-cost alternative to the Pap test that could make cervical cancer prevention a reality in low-resource settings. Based on the results of this research, 91社区 helped form the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention in 1999 and received funding from the Gates Foundation to expand its cervical cancer program. Since that time, 91社区 has developed and piloted the single visit approach in which women are screened and treated during the same visit.

In 1995, 91社区 began addressing HIV/AIDS. Six years later, 91社区 began work in HIV voluntary counseling and testing with a USAID-funded project in Jamaica. In 2002, 91社区 received its first funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for work in HIV/AIDS and, the following year, developed a global learning package on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV鈥攚ith CDC, WHO and university partners鈥攖o enable global scale-up. Also in 2003, 91社区 began work on male circumcision for HIV prevention in Zambia. In 2008, 91社区 developed a global learning package on male circumcision for HIV prevention with WHO and UNAIDS.

The Way Forward

91社区鈥檚 role in maternal and child health has expanded dramatically over the years, increasing its emphasis on nurses and midwives as primary care providers. From 1998 through the present, 91社区 has led five USAID鈥檚 global flagship programs focused on maternal and newborn health: the MNH Program, the ACCESS Program, followed by the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) and the Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP). Today, 91社区 leads MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership, which is part of a suite of awards funded by USAID to holistically improve maternal and child health in partner countries around the world.

91社区鈥檚 dedicated teams of technical experts鈥攊n the areas of global learning; health/women’s cancer; maternal, newborn and child health; monitoring, evaluation and research; health systems strengthening; HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases; publications; and knowledge management鈥攁re renewing their efforts to pursue and disseminate practical, low-cost innovations that can make significant contributions to the health of women and their families.

As 91社区 moves forward, its staff will continue to respond to changing needs in the field, and they will continue to ask: How can we save more lives?