The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners in the maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) technical working group are working together to strengthen implementation of MPDSR to enhance the quality of maternal and perinatal care and improve health outcomes.

A key intervention for improving maternal, perinatal, and neonatal survival is understanding the number and causes of deaths. This panel will show how creating a community of practice of MPDSR data use with specific implementation experiences from Uganda, Indonesia, and other countries is possible in order to actively track number of deaths and respond to these deaths. Moreover, we will present to the audience an important new tool, the "Legislating maternal death surveillance and response" manual. This tool is based on a desk review study of a cross-section of countries that have instituted a legal or regulatory framework for implementing maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) systems or are aspiring to develop such a framework. Countries increasingly find legislation is a useful accountability tool that has the capacity to supplement policy by establishing a legal or regulatory mandate for reporting and reviewing maternal deaths. This enhances transparency and promotes MPDSR as a system where confidentiality must always be observed and respected.

The session will actively seek contributions from the audience on what further the WHO with partners and policymakers can do to ensure further improvement and implementation of MPDSR cycle at country and global levels.