grant Keshet Ronen Kenya National Institutes of Health (NIH) Maternal Health Mental Health
June 24, 2020 | Department News

DGH Professors Receive Grant to Research Text Messaging and Maternal Mental Health

A recently-awarded grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will allow Keshet Ronen, clinical assistant professor of Global Health, to develop natural language processing tools to use SMS text messaging to monitor and support maternal mental health in Kenya.

The grant, titled “Leveraging interactive SMS messaging to monitor and support maternal mental health in Kenya”, will fund Ronen’s research through May 2022 with a total award of $128,116. Ronen explained the purpose of this grant, as well as the public health impacts it can create.

BIRCH team
Maternal Health Immunizations Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Andy Stergachis
October 16, 2017 | Health News

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Maternal Immunization Safety Monitoring in Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Roadmap for Program Development

By Eve Lackritz, Andy Stergachis, and Maria Stepanchak

The first 28 days of life (the neonatal period) are the most vulnerable for a child’s survival. Worldwide, almost half of all deaths in children under five years old occur during the first 28 days of life. Despite progress in recent decades, neonatal mortality remains the highest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and 99% of all neonatal deaths occur in LMICs.