Francisco F. Songane, a former Minister of Health from Mozambique recognized both nationally and internationally for innovation and leadership, has been named the new Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

Dr. Songane\'s public health career has involved extensive work at sub-national, national and international levels. Trained in Mozambique, the United States and England, he was a district medical director and teacher, as well as the director of the country\'s second-largest hospital. He served as the Minister of Health of Mozambique from 2000-2004.

?I have delivered babies in rural areas and worked to bring the crisis of the world\'s dying mothers and children to discussions at the highest level,? said Dr. Songane. ?For me, the Partnership will bring together all the different players. As Director of the new global Partnership, I hope to mobilize support and coordinate action with a country focus so that together, we can prevent the needless deaths of 11 million women and children in the world every year.?

As Minister of Health of Mozambique, Dr. Songane is credited for using a partnership approach for averting the outbreak of disease during the floods of 2000 and 2001, as well as for the conclusion and operational launch of the country\'s health-sector strategy. He worked to introduce innovative interventions into the Mozambican health system, including Hepatitis B vaccine, trials on a potential Malaria and use of a more effective Cholera vaccine, as well as antiretroviral therapy into the public system --an example that has been shared globally.

?As well as the technical expertise, Dr. Songane has the vision to lead the Partnership, He has continued to speak and act for maternal, newborn and child health throughout his career,? said Kul Gautam, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and Chairperson of the Partnership. \" He has outstanding technical expertise as well as the vision to lead this important Partnership to help accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths. This is an important moment for the Partnership. It is moving forward through the selection of its Director, by expanding its member countries and organizations and with the continuing generous support from many donors and. member agencies.\"

Dr. Songane\'s extensive involvement with the international community has included serving as Executive Committee Member and Board Member of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. He was also a member of Task Force 4 of the UN Millennium Project (2002-2004), analyzing the practicalities of achieving the goals related to maternal and child health.

Dr. Songane trained as a medical doctor and obstetrician/gynaecologist at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique as well as at St. James University Hospital in Leeds, England. Dr. Songane is also a Master of Public health from Boston University and Master of Science in Financial Economics from University of London in England. He is presently working towards his doctorate at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and is married with three children.

The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health is made up of a broad constituency of more than 80 members representing partner countries, UN and multilateral agencies, nongovernmental organizations, health professional associations, bilateral donors and foundations, and academic and research institutions. The Partnership encourages unified approaches and supports country-led efforts to accelerate universal coverage of essential interventions for maternal, newborn and child.

For more information or to request an interview with Dr. Songane, please contact:

Partnership for Maternal, Newborn &Child Health Secretariat
C/O World Health Organization, Room X/043
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
+41 22 791 4738
http://www.pmnch.org