The UP Research Centre for Maternal, Fetal, Newborn and Child Health Care Strategies aims to create a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, inter-professional research and learning network aligned with the achievement of the Sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2, 3 and 4. The centre wants to achieve the fore mentioned SDGs by:
- Continue existing collaboration with national and international partners
- Develop new partnerships to broaden current research areas
- Seek funding for programmes and projects with potential
- Nurture young and upcoming researchers by providing development opportunities and support
- Generate scientific publications, resource materials and policy documents to support academic learning, service delivery, policy-making and public health literacy
Vision
The first 1,000 days of life, spanning from conception to a child’s second birthday, represent a critical window of opportunity to shape healthier futures. During this formative period, a child’s brain develops at an unprecedented rate, the foundation for lifelong physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being is laid, and the health of the mother and family environment plays a pivotal role in long-term outcomes.
The vision of the centre is to be a leader in the field of perinatal healthcare by seeking scaleable and sustainable solutions for preventing maternal, fetal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality in the primary and secondary levels of care and improving neurodevelopment in children to achieve a “quadruple return on investment.”
Mission
To build on previous achievements of the SA MRC Research Unit Maternal and Infant Health Care Strategies Unit, such as the already established quality of care review audits into maternal, perinatal, and child deaths (e.g. PPIP, Child PIP, MaMMAS). The focus will be on exploring and implementing innovative practices and processes through the following to contribute to meaningful change in health outcomes for ordinary people by reducing maternal, fetal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality:
- Systematic and Realist Reviews
- Cutting Edge Clinical Research
- Frontline Implementation Research
- Research on Effective Ways to Achieve Sustainability of Interventions
