Healthcare experts and stakeholders met today to discuss maternal health for future generations after The Malta Trust Foundation, founded and chaired by Former President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and the International Malta-based foundation, Humanity 2.0 joined forces tobring into effect Sustainable Development Goal 3, and also to heed the Pope’s call to action on matters impacting humanity.
More than 50 experts in maternal and infant health put on their thinking hats during this morning’s roundtable, which was attended by Humanity 2.0 Lab CEO Morad Fareed, who is also co-founder of Humanity 2.0, a pioneering foundation based in Malta and Rome.
It follows on a series of meetings held between the Malta Trust Foundation and Humanity 2.0 Lab, focusing on marrying new technology and scientific findings with medicine and policy and introduce these to maternal caregivers, in the Mediterranean, in Europe, and beyond.
Ms Coleiro Preca said: “I feel truly proud that through this collaboration, Malta will be a leader in promoting the improvement of maternal health and well-being, by using Malta’s health service as a model of best practice, not only within Europe and the Mediterranean, but also globally.
“Malta provides excellent maternal care, which makes it best placed to be developed into a model of best practice.”
One in ten women in Europe does not have access to maternal healthcare, a figure that shoots up in developing countries, and Ms Coleiro Preca felt the time was ripe to promote this issue with the hope of making a difference to the lives of so many women and children in Malta and beyond.
The aim of the roundtable is to establish Malta as a model of good practice on maternal healthcare while mapping out what other aspects of Maternal Health can be further enhanced,through a combination of educational programmes and direct engagement with key stakeholders and policymakers.
“Malta can be the perfect laboratory to pilot such initiatives, given its manageable size, its excellent track record in maternal health and the expertise it has in the area,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.
Humanity 2.0 Lab hopes that the collaborative platform will guide the distribution and development of healthier environments for mothers, children, and families globally, so that all pregnant women and infants can not only survive, but flourish.
Malta will also be contributing internationally to the United Nations Agenda 2030 and itsSustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, Target 3.1, which binds the international community to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, by 2030.
“This is why the collaboration between the Malta Trust Foundation and Humanity 2.0 Lab, and other partners is so important, essential and timely,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.
The way forward was laid out in a Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed between the two sides today.
In it, the Malta Trust Foundation and Humanity 2.0 pledge: “To work to formulate, adopt, promote and help implement policies and development strategies by entering in a joint and mutual commitment to improve maternal health and wellness and set a pregnancy standard for women worldwide.”
Through this collaboration, Malta will become the first country to qualify as a participating member of the Humanity 2.0 Lab platform for maternal health, which will allow the island toprovide its expertise, directly participate in the creation of toolkits and take part in its research and educational programmes among others.