My last PhD paper is out! It's called "Indicator menus: Intentional reorientation in global maternal and neonatal health measurement". If you are interested in questions of purpose and power when it comes to international-level measurement, this one is for you: shorturl.at/dC9T8

Indicator menus: Intentional reorientation in global maternal and neonatal health measurement

There is strong impetus for internationally standardized measurement for maternal and neonatal health (MNH) to facilitate global benchmarking and acco…

sciencedirect.com

Essay: Unawareness, or What We Do Not (Want to) Know An open access chapter in the book “Epidemiological Obfuscation” It asks the question: “Why do researchers do empirical social research that they have reason to know not to do?” Please download and read it: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...

Unawareness, or What We Do Not (Want to) Know | 15 | Epidemiological O

Why do researchers do empirical social research that they have reason to know not to do? Why do they sometimes pose research questions that sidestep what they

taylorfrancis.com

"Each city has its own health system shaped by unique demographic, geographical, sociopolitical, governance, infrastructural and cultural characteristics, demanding its own set of solutions." gh.bmj.com/content/11/3...

The richness of urban health realities lost in measurement monocultures

The question seems simple enough: how can a rapidly growing African city improve the health and care of its pregnant women and their babies? But ask this question while navigating the humid, traffic-c...

gh.bmj.com

This is an excellent read and what a dream team of authors! "It is important to distinguish between 'making global data'-collating sources from across the globe-and 'making data global'-computing global metrics through modelling[...] disproportionate focus on the latter marginalises alternatives"

Pete Macharia, PhD@pete-m-m.bsky.social · 5mo ago

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬? 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞: gh.bmj.com/content/11/3... Co-authored with @jilmolenaar.bsky.social, @lenkabenova.bsky.social , @seyeabimbola.bsky.social , @onykepe.bsky.social & @grlurton.bsky.social illustration by Namrata Narendra.

In this short essay in BMJ Global Health, we draw attention to how standardised “global”measurement approaches obscure diversity, marginalise locally relevant insights needed for effective interventions, and create fragile measurement monocultures. gh.bmj.com/content/11/3...

The richness of urban health realities lost in measurement monocultures

The question seems simple enough: how can a rapidly growing African city improve the health and care of its pregnant women and their babies? But ask this question while navigating the humid, traffic-c...

gh.bmj.com

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬? 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞: gh.bmj.com/content/11/3... Co-authored with @jilmolenaar.bsky.social, @lenkabenova.bsky.social , @seyeabimbola.bsky.social , @onykepe.bsky.social & @grlurton.bsky.social illustration by Namrata Narendra.

Routine health data give us a valuable but partial picture of quality of maternal and neonatal care. Our new paper in Health Policy and Planning asks: partial for whom - and why? 📄 @srhgroup-itm.bsky.social @itmantwerp.bsky.social @lenkabenova.bsky.social

Partial pictures: what routine health data can and cannot tell us about the quality of maternal and neonatal health services in Tanzania

Abstract. Measurement of contact coverage of maternal and newborn health services may overestimate the benefits of the care that is provided, because the q

academic.oup.com

⚠️ Update: Live metrics show widespread restrictions to multiple social media and messaging platforms as #Tanzania comes back online after a five-day internet shutdown; the incident continues to limit election transparency and the free flow of information

What's happening to global health now that Trump's withdrawing the US from...everything? The Gates Foundation—already a major player—is now filling that power vacuum, for better or worse. Check out my new piece for @undark.org! undark.org/2025/07/02/g...

The Gates Foundation’s Global Reach Expands, to Mixed Reviews

As the U.S. and other countries cut funding for global health initiatives, what role will philanthropy take?

undark.org

🔎 The University of St Andrews research team led by Katherine Keenan and partner in the SOC-MISC project is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to work on analysing Scottish public data on miscarriages. More information in the link below : 👉 www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/I/...

When health data go dark: the importance of the DHS Program and imagining its future We discuss; Consequences on the tracking of population health outcomes & behaviours. Implications for national decision-makers & the global health community Potential paths forward doi.org/10.1186/s129...

When health data go dark: the importance of the DHS Program and imagining its future - BMC Medicine

Background The suspension and/or termination of many programmes funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by the new US administration has severe short- and long-te...

doi.org

We are raising an alarm about the effect of USAID funding cuts on essential population and health data. ssrn.com/abstract=513... @pete-m-m.bsky.social @srhgroup-itm.bsky.social @bhensen.bsky.social @jilmolenaar.bsky.social @onykepe.bsky.social @cbpolis.bsky.social @manueladr.bsky.social ocial

Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp@itmantwerp.bsky.social · 2y ago

🚨 What happens when vital health data disappears? The suspension of USAID funding for the DHS Program threatens global health monitoring, policymaking, and life-saving interventions. We must restore funding before this loss impacts millions. Share with your network! www.itg.be/en/health-st...

🚨 What happens when vital health data disappears? The suspension of USAID funding for the DHS Program threatens global health monitoring, policymaking, and life-saving interventions. We must restore funding before this loss impacts millions. Share with your network! www.itg.be/en/health-st...

When health data go dark, we create dangerous blind spots. The USAID funding freeze has halted DHS Program work in many LMICs. Read our call to restore data access & continue DHS activities: shorturl.at/8U1LN @itmantwerp.bsky.social @srhgroup-itm.bsky.social @lenkabenova.bsky.social

When health data go dark

A call to restore DHS Program funding

itg.be

Just published: ‘Getting the numbers right’ - on how healthcare workers navigate power & pressure when collecting MNH data in Tanzania. Ethnographic insights on the social lives of health data 🏥 tinyurl.com/3n8tcefh @srhgroup-itm.bsky.social @lenkabenova.bsky.social

We had heard about the challenges posed by motherhood within academia, but what about the previous stage? @ecfreewoman.bsky.social & I wrote our story for @science.org on how the academic system makes it almost impossible for women to even plan for a family ❤️‍🩹: www.science.org/content/arti...

As women in academia, having children can feel impossible. Talking about it makes us feel less alone

The struggle is “balancing their careers not just with motherhood, but with what comes before: relationships and planning for a family,” these postdocs write

science.org

De hoge druk om doelstellingen te halen voor betere gezondheidsuitkomsten voor vrouwen en hun baby’s, kan onbedoeld negatieve gevolgen hebben. De Nederlandstalige versie van mijn blog staat nu online op de Kennismakers website! shorturl.at/WzVPt @srhgroup-itm.bsky.social @annadams.bsky.social

Doelen behaald, de essentie gemist: De politiek van geboortedata | Kennismakers

De hoge druk om doelstellingen te halen voor betere gezondheidsuitkomsten voor vrouwen en hun baby’s, kan onbedoeld negatieve gevolgen hebben.

kennismakers.be

Scientists should stop arguing about whether science is political and get on with defending science against increasingly powerful attacks on it, which, yes, means scientists should be political advocates 🔥🔥 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Scientists as political advocates

Science, both teaching and doing, is under attack. The recent US presidential election of a person and platform with anti-science bias exemplifies this. The study of climate processes and patterns and...

science.org

Georgia officials have dismissed all members of the state's Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which is charged with investigating deaths of pregnant women, in response to ProPublica's reporting on the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller.

Georgia Dismissed All Members of Maternal Mortality Committee After ProPublica Obtained Internal Details of Two Deaths

In a letter, the state’s public health commissioner said the action was taken because “confidential information provided to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee was inappropriately shared with outs...

propub.li

Digital data systems hold a lot of promise, but we should avoid ‘techno-utopian’ views of digital technologies as straightforward ways to fix problems in routine health information systems. Our qualitative paper 'Data for whom?' is now out in BMJ Global Health! gh.bmj.com/content/9/11...

"This #map represents what I know": the power of putting Lubumbashi’s #maternal healthcare services on the map "Keeping the maps accurate therefore requires a continuous effort, which is unlikely to happen without local ownership." www.itg.be/fr/histoires... www.itg.be/en/health-st...

Mapping Lubumbashi’s maternal healthcare services

Recently, health system managers & stakeholders provided input on preliminary maps of maternal & newborn healthcare facilities in Lubumbashi

itg.be

Pressure to meet targets to improve health outcomes for women and their babies can have unintended negative consequences. In this blog post, published on Harvard’s Maternal Health Taskforce website, I explain why. www.mhtf.org/2024/11/07/m...

Meeting the target but missing the point: The politics of childbirth data

Pressure to meet targets to improve health outcomes for women and their babies can have unintended negative consequences. Rose, one of two nurse-midwives on duty in a hospital labour ward in Southe…

mhtf.org