About this Event
Across the world, innovations are improving maternal and reproductive health—from reliable clean energy and better diagnostics to lifesaving clinical interventions, stronger community health systems, and new approaches to identifying and reaching underserved populations. Yet too many proven solutions remain confined to pilots, projects, or limited geographies.
This HIEx session, led by We Care Solar, will explore a central challenge in global maternal health: We know many of the solutions that save women’s lives. Why aren’t they reaching every woman?
The conversation will move beyond identifying what works to examine what it takes to bring effective solutions to scale while maintaining quality, sustainability, and equity. Drawing on experience from research, implementation, and health systems across Africa and globally, panelists will consider how governments, communities, philanthropy, researchers, and implementing organizations can work together to close the gap between innovation and impact.
The discussion will explore questions including:
- Why do proven maternal health innovations so often struggle to move from successful pilots to widespread adoption?
- What evidence is needed to catalyze government and funder investment, and how do we balance rigorous evaluation with the urgency of saving lives?
- What does it take to integrate innovation into existing health systems rather than create parallel programs?
- How can innovations such as GIS mapping, technology-enabled community health workers, portable diagnostics, reliable energy, and proven clinical interventions help reach women and communities that have historically been left behind?
- What financing, partnerships, government leadership, and implementation strategies are needed to achieve sustainable scale?
- How do we ensure that scale does not come at the expense of equity—and that reaching the last woman is a measure of success?
Speakers
Dr. Amina Aminu Dorayi
Regional Portfolio Director, West and Central Africa, Pathfinder International
Dr. Laura Stachel
Co-Founder & Executive Director, We Care Solar
Dr. Ndola Prata
Professor, UC Berkeley School of Public Health; Director, Bixby Center for Population, Health & Sustainability
Moderator: Madhavi Mukherjee
The Bridgespan Group
The session will challenge participants to think beyond innovation itself toward the systems, partnerships, evidence, financing, and leadership required to turn promising solutions into lasting impact for women everywhere.
Event venue & nearby stays
Church Center of the United Nations, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.