Improving access to quality health services for mothers (including pregnant women), newborns and children (MNC) requires evidence-informed, goal-oriented health and social policies as well as interventions based on good practice. As a commitment to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) invested CAN$36 million through the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) initiative – a seven-year programme (2014–2020) in 11 countrie.s

The Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) initiative in East Africa is a project that is implemented by 13 research teams spread across Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Malawi. It is part of a bigger IMCHA in Africa initiative implemented in partnership of Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). T 

Across sub-Saharan Africa, around 550 women die every day from complications due to pregnancy or childbirth, and children under five are 16 times more likely to die than if they were born in high-income countries. Many of these deaths are preventable through stronger, more resilient, health systems. Access to quality care and data are areas that require investment, improvement and innovation to reduce maternal and child mortality rates.

There have been great maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) achievements across sub-Saharan African over the last two decades. Countries have made progress against many key indicators, including under-five and maternal mortality, as well as the provision of family planning and HIV services.

Southern Hemisphere was commissioned in April 2020 to conduct an evaluation of the work of the EA–HPRO. The overall purpose of this evaluation was to document the EA-HPRO model, and assess the value of this model of engagement and knowledge translation and policy engagement in evidenceinformed decision-making and scale up.