This initiative draws on partnership and collaboration as a strategy for helping meet the maternal and child health MDGs. A group of organisations around the world (please see Partners section, below) is working together to manage projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nepal, Malawi and Bangladesh with the purpose of improving maternal and infant health in economically poor countries, by integrating disparate evidence, generating new knowledge in key areas, and communicating research findings.

Specifically, the consortium aims to support the evidence-based policy and practice for maternal and child health by:

• Providing evidence in interventions to improve the survival of women and infants through (i) community interventions and (ii) health services delivery
• Influencing policy and management decision-making on large-scale programmes for maternal and infant mortality reduction
• Increasing capacity in partner countries for knowledge generation and policy influence.

Towards 4+5 will use a variety of methods to communicate its research, including peer-reviewed journals, international conferences, workshops, websites, leaflets, policy briefs, manuals, radio interviews, and meetings with stakeholders.

Maternal and Child Health.