After its launch at EngenderHealth in 2008, the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) is transitioning to its new home: the Women & Health Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Ongoing support for the MHTF comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Maternal mortality and morbidity rates remain unacceptably high in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and India. While most maternal deaths and disabilities are preventable, poor health services and scarce resources limit women's access to life-saving, high-quality care.

The activities of the MHTF are based upon the information and evidence gathered during the project's first three years. There is an urgent need for better understanding of the factors that limit services and providers' capacity to offer quality maternal health care. In order to sustain and accelerate progress, a new generation of maternal health experts must be cultivated and fostered. Finally, routine knowledge exchanges are essential to building on the cohesion brought to the field during the MHTF's first phase.

The MHTF is now focusing on three activities:
• conducting implementation research on the quality of maternal health care and its measurement;
• expanding maternal health educational opportunities for mid-level maternal health professionals in high-burden countries, public health students, and a new class of Young Champions of Maternal Health; and
• convening scientific and technical conferences and meetings for maternal health professionals and their colleagues from allied fields.