Our Team
Dr. Hayfa Elamin,
Team Leader in Maternal, Newborn and
Child Health
Dr. Hayfa Elamin is a physician specialized in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Public Health, with more than twenty years experience in maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH).
Her strong analytical skills allow her to rapidly synthesize available evidence and from that develop training and job aides and counseling tools, facilitate training, and conduct assessments and research. During her career she has utilized her sound epidemiological and organizational skills to design, implement, and improve the delivery of services in areas ranging from MNCH, reproductive health and family planning to cardiovascular conditions. A passionate public health professional that engages her audiences and inspires her staff to deliver quality MNCH services in a gender sensitive and culturally appropriate way, Dr. Elamin has worked in various settings throughout both the developed and developing world. Originally from Sudan, she is a natural trainer and team player that strives to improve MNCH and women's condition in Arabic-speaking and African countries. Dr. Elamin is fluent in Arabic as well and English with a working knowledge of French.
Dr. Elamin's vision for maternal, new born and child health is rooted in the role she believes men should have in MNCH... "It is my belief that if we are to achieve MDG's 4 and 5, we need to change our approach. The first and most important step that we can take is to include fathers in the MNCH program. Fathers are often the backbone of the family and yet they are most often left out of maternal, neonatal, and child health programs. By involving fathers in all steps of the MNCH approach we will be doing more than adding an "F" to an acronym (MNCH+F), we will be giving fathers a participatory role in the health and well-being of his family, and both mother and child. By empowering fathers to do their job in MNCH, we will gain vital support of an often neglected partner in reaching our global health goals." Fathers have seven roles in the MNCH+F program: 1. hygiene and cleanliness for mother and newborn; 2. antenatal care follow-up and danger signs in the mother; 3. birth preparedness; 4. essential newborn care and breastfeeding; 5. danger signs in the baby; 6. management of newborn and child illness, and immunization; and 7. health timing and spacing of next pregnancy.
