Overview
The Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research supports and conducts clinical trials in resource-limited countries by pairing foreign and U.S. investigators, with the goal of evaluating low-cost, sustainable interventions to improve maternal and child health and simultaneously building local research capacity and infrastructure. These activities are designed to facilitate independent continuation of local research activities that will ultimately lead to improved healthcare systems and personal health.
The Global Network began in 2001 as a public-private partnership between NICHD and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. NICHD provides scientific oversight of the Global Network and all its activities through its Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch.
The original Global Network sites were in the following locations:
- Belagavi, India
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Lusaka, Zambia
The network currently includes a data coordinating center (DCC) and several multidisciplinary research units around the world, each comprising a partnership between a research institution in a developing nation and one in the United States. The network, which was re-competed in 2013, currently includes dyads of investigators in the United States paired with senior foreign investigators in the following locations:
- Belagavi, India
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Eldoret, Kenya
- Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Lusaka, Zambia
- Nagpur, India
Network studies focus on community-based, common protocols, conducted at three or more sites. These protocols address major maternal and newborn health challenges with the goals of evaluating low-cost, sustainable interventions to improve maternal and child health (MCH), evaluating trends in MCH mortality over time, and simultaneously building local research capacity and infrastructure. This unique approach gives NICHD the ability to identify gaps between science and practice and disseminate the research findings to inform local and national health policy. Each study examines either a novel evidence-based treatment or an innovative use of a proven treatment to improve the health, well-being, and survival of pregnant women and infants. All studies conform to U.S. and international ethical and safety guidelines.
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Fogarty International Center, National Cancer Institute, and others—in addition to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—have supported projects or parts of projects conducted by the network.
This effort builds partnerships with national, international, and nonprofit organizations, such as the World Health Organization, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Topic Areas
Current activities include:
- Azithromycin-Prevention in Labor Use Study (A-PLUS) (NCT03871491). The A-PLUS Trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel multicenter clinical trial. The study intervention is a single, prophylactic oral dose of 2 grams of azithromycin given during birth (intrapartum), compared with a single intrapartum oral dose of an identical-appearing placebo. The A-PLUS Trial is being conducted with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Maternal Newborn Health Registry (NCT01073475). This prospective, observational study of approximately 60,000 women per year aims to quantify and understand trends in pregnancy services and outcomes over time in defined, low-resource geographic clusters. All pregnant women are registered and their outcomes tracked for 6 weeks following delivery. The registry has been ongoing since 2008.
More Information
- Global Network Website
(maintained by the Global Network DCC, RTI International)
- NICHD Contact: Marion Koso-Thomas
Browse studies and request data for your research.
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