Issue Ascendance in Global Health: Jeremy Shiffman Presented the Case of Newborn Survival

On Thursday, February 25th, 2010, Dr. Jeremy Shiffman, member of the Maternal Health Task Force Editorial Committee, presented his research on issue ascendance in global health to a full house of MHTF partners and EngenderHealth staff at the EngenderHealth offices in New York. His presentation was titled, Issue Ascendance in Global Health: The Case of Newborn Survival.

Jeremy discussed his framework for understanding why certain issues in global health receive more political attention–and resources–than other issues.

Jeremy explained that issue ascendance is likely a function of how well actors build a network of individuals connected by a common concern for the issue; construct a compelling narrative about the issue; and negotiate the landscape of opportunities and obstacles to addressing the issue.

He applied the framework to the case of newborn survival but also explained that this framework might be applied to other global health issues including maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, and gender based violence.

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