PMA2020 Principal Investigators from 10 program countries (Burkina Faso, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda) gathered in Baltimore for the fourth time since the program’s inception in 2013. The fourth annual PMA2020 PI Meeting, held at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health from March 20–24, 2017, started with a welcome from PMA2020 Director Dr. Scott Radloff, and highlights from the past year. The meeting was a chance for country teams to share experiences and exchange knowledge. The week also provided time to discuss long-term project sustainability, data promotion and utilization, and strengthening collaboration with key partners and stakeholders.
During the course of the meeting each country program’s PI(s) had an opportunity to share their team’s greatest achievements, including the launch of PMA DataLab (PMA2020’s data visualization tool), expansions to new geographies and continued use of PMA2020 data to inform policy and program changes. In addition, the team talked about collective challenges from the past year and worked together as a team to share lessons learned and think through workable solutions. The sessions also covered topics on technical and financial sustainability and future directions of PMA2020.
Highlights from the final day of the PI meeting included a spotlight on The Challenge Initiative, a new project of the Gates Institute focusing on urban reproductive health, as well as PMA/Agile and PMA/Plus – two new grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation now under the PMA2020 portfolio.
Thank you to all our PIs, and we look forward to another productive meeting in 2018!