Making a difference on a local and global scale

After earning his BSc and MD from the University of Manitoba in 1986, Jamie began his career as a physician in rural Manitoba with the UM’s Northern Medical Unit. This early experience sparked a passion for public health, inspiring him to pursue advanced degrees at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) a Master of Public Health in 1990 and a PhD in Epidemiology in 1997.

After his studies at JHU, Jamie returned home and served as Manitoba’s Provincial Epidemiologist (1992-2000) and rejoined the University of Manitoba as a faculty member in the departments of Community Health Sciences and Medical Microbiology in 1996. In 2001 he relocated to India and led the establishment of several large-scale UM public health projects focused on HIV and maternal, newborn and child health. After returning from India, he founded and took on the role of Director of the Centre for Global Public Health (now the Institute for Global Public Health). Over the years, his innovative research and leadership earned him a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in 2004, and most recently, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair — which acknowledges him by his peers as a world leader in his field. — a recognition that came with $1.4 million in funding over seven years to support his broad and impactful research. His leadership has been instrumental in establishing the UM as an international leader in global public health, securing more than $450 million in international funding for research, program delivery and technical support.

“One of the unique aspects of being at the University of Manitoba is the long history and legacy of having responsibility. The University of Manitoba has had responsibility for providing care for people who live in the North and Indigenous communities.” Explains Jamie.

In 2020, his leadership helped transform the Centre for Global Public Health into the Institute of Global Public Health, a university-supported hub that encourages collaboration across disciplines and borders. The Institute’s approach has provided a globally-recognized model for how academic institutions can play a transformative role in improving health outcomes for underserved and marginalized populations.

“There’s always been that sense that the university is not just there to do the research and the teaching, but it’s also there to make a difference,” says Jamie. “And that has influenced the way that we do our global health programs.”

Leading change in public health

Jamie’s research is both wide-ranging and influential. His international work focuses on understanding how diseases like HIV and other sexually transmitted infections spread through diverse populations, including in India. By studying transmission networks, he’s helped shape prevention strategies that are now used around the world.

Closer to home, his work has looked at why some communities in Canada face higher rates of diseases like diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. By exploring the factors behind these disparities, Jamie has aimed to develop targeted prevention programs that can improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

His work bridges scientific discovery and real-world impact — translating research into effective public health programs and collaborating with policymakers and health leaders both in Canada and internationally. His dedication has helped improve health outcomes for disadvantaged communities.

Jamie’s contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2001 Frederick G. Banting Award from the Canadian Diabetes Foundation and the Rh Award for Health Sciences in 2006. He also received the Scholastic Award from Doctors Manitoba in 2013 and was named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2022.

A humble leader focused on service

Despite his many accomplishments, Jamie remains humble and focused on the greater good. His work is driven by a genuine desire to make a difference, often putting public interest above personal recognition. He is also dedicated to mentoring the next generation of leaders, sharing his knowledge and experience to inspire others. As he puts it, “In this line of work where you depend on so many people at your institution and within your teams around the world, having this honour reminds me how privileged I’ve been to able to work with such a great team and in such a supportive university environment.”

Jamie’s career exemplifies the qualities celebrated by the Distinguished Alumni Award for Academic Innovation. His pioneering research, guidance, and constant dedication continue to inspire those around him. As he shapes public health policy and practice worldwide, his legacy as a leader and innovator grows stronger. We’re proud to celebrate Jamie’s remarkable journey at the 66th UM Distinguished Alumni Awards presented by TD Insurance on September 18, 2025.

Learn more about this year’s inspiring 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.

On Tuesday, the university announced the latest US$12.5-million grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had brought in more than $450 million in research dollars since the foundation’s first grant to it 22 years ago.

“We’ve had a lot of different projects with the Gates Foundation,” said Dr. James Blanchard, director of the Institute for Global Public Health and the Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global health.

To read the full article, it can be found here on the Winnipeg Free Press site.

The IGPH, led by Dr. James Blanchard, Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health, has been making a difference in the lives of women and children in Uttar Pradesh, India for decades with research that aligns closely with the Gates maternal, newborn and child health strategy to reduce infant and maternal death in the region.

“The IGPH team is pleased to build on our work with healthcare providers to improve health outcomes for women, newborns and their families in expanded regions,” said James Blanchard. “Thanks to this significant funding provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, our team will build new partnerships with local governments and health agencies with the goal of improved family planning practices.”

The University of Manitoba and the IGPH are leaders in maternal and child health research, with UM funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation totaling over $450 million in the past 22 years – the most of any post-secondary institution in Canada.  

Nigerian mother and her baby

Understanding family planning supply limitations in over 8000 facilities

The newest grant will help local governments understand the strengths and limitations of core health systems constraints in availability, utilization and quality of family planning, maternal, newborn and child health services and supplies in priority regions of the countries of Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire, the Kano, Kaduna and Lagos states of Nigeria, and Sindh province of Pakistan. This one-year rapid assessment project is the first step in providing focused guidance to address the constraints on family planning services in the regions.

“The highlighted regions are characterized by low levels of, and slow increase in, the uptake of modern methods for family planning,” according to Blanchard. “Most of the regions have very little information about the supply and availability of family planning and maternal and newborn health services and commodities.”

Dr. James Blanchard

Blanchard and co-investigators Ties Boerma, Canada Research Chair, Population and Global Health, provide specific technical advice and general oversight on the project. This project also includes UM researchers from the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, including B.M. Ramesh, Faran Emanuel and and Tahira Reza, along with key specialists Preeti Anand and Pranav Bhushan.

The large local research teams will visit 8,000 public and private health facilities including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, and will consult with local doctors, nurses and community health workers. Researchers will assess the core health systems including physical infrastructure,  and the specialized equipment and medications needed to provide family planning and maternal, newborn and child health services. Additionally, key components of health systems such as human resources, supply chain management and data management will also be comprehensively and systematically assessed. Once the data has been collected and analyzed, it will be presented to local governments in the regions to help guide further improvements to health care systems.

UM is making an impact on maternal, newborn and child health outcomes

“We are proud of the impact our work has had and we continue to engage and train talented researchers around the world and in Canada to participate in important work that has proven to positively affect the lives of many women, children and their families and communities,” says Blanchard.

The current grant helps builds on the research outcomes achieved by the UM Institute for Global Public Health around the world. Recent reports published by the Government of India have shown dramatic increases in the coverage and quality of antenatal and delivery services and substantial declines neonatal and maternal mortality in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is a focus area for the IGPH’s work in India.

“UM is grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for this important support that allows UM to continue to make positive impacts around the world,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “This grant allows Dr. Blanchard’s team to continue its valuable work helping to improve access to family planning and maternal, newborn and child healthcare in more regions. Collecting data from these unique geographies is an important step to furthering efforts that remove constraints and close gaps in the health care systems and improve the lives of women and their children.”

The Institute for Global Public Health (IGPH) was established in February 2020. It was based on the foundation built by the Centre for Global Public Health, which was created in 2008 to enhance the University of Manitoba’s leadership in global public health. IGPH is rooted in the Department of Community Health Sciences in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences but has a university-wide mandate.

What you should know about Dr. James Blanchard and his research:

• Dr. James Blanchard [B.Sc.(Med.)/86, MD/86], executive director of the UM Institute for Global Public Health, leads health research and programming to support reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Asia and Africa.

• The Institute for Global Public Health (IGPH) has helped position UM health researchers as leaders in global public health. IGPH is rooted in the Department of Community Health Sciences in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences but has a university-wide mandate.

• In Canada, he has been a leader in developing methods to study the emerging epidemics of diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

Research impacts:

• In 2014, approximately 45 out of every 1,000 babies died within the first month of life in Uttar Pradesh, India. By 2019, neonatal mortality rates decreased to 36 per 1,000 live births.

• Over the past 25 years, Blanchard has also provided leadership globally to applying research to improve the design and implementation of large public health programs related to sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS.

Recent honours and honourable mentions:

• In 2022, Blanchard’s research was given a major injection of support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The funding of US$87 million will help the government of Uttar Pradesh scale up critical initiatives across the state to prioritize the health of pregnant women and their children.

• Elected as a fellow the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) in 2022. The CAHS Fellowship recognizes excellence in health sciences. Election to Fellowship in the Academy is considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community.

Must-read or Must-see:

READ: Cross collaborations in health with university and government in India

VIDEO: How UM researchers are saving lives in India

What’s next:

• New global health initiatives and collaborations with partners will advance UM’s role in promoting the use of science in designing and implementing high-impact public health programs.

• Advancing knowledge to improve health programs and services for socially and economically excluded urban and peri-urban populations in south Asia.

• Developing partnerships with academic institutions in other countries for graduate education in community health sciences and global health.

UM Faces & Spaces is a monthly feature showcasing the people and places across UM that are transforming the student experience, advancing innovation in research, driving change and creating a lasting impact here in Manitoba and globally. For more stories go to our YouTube playlist.

Dr. James Blanchard.

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UM researchers are working in India to build partnerships and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. Since 2014, the UM has championed this life-saving initiative through the Institute for Global Public Health (IGPH), with newly published results showing a significant reduction in neonatal mortality.

Led by Dr. James Blanchard, Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health and Executive Director of the IGPH within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, this unique partnership between the IGPH and the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) continues to help decrease maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the region. This project would not be possible without the leadership of GoUP and their commitment to implementing policies and programs to improve health outcomes in the region.

“By working collaboratively with local governments and other academic and development partners, we are able to strengthen health systems and develop healthcare policies to help improve outcomes for mothers and children across the state,” said Blanchard.

Dr. Marissa Becker.

Dr. Marissa Becker is a professor in the department of community health sciences and the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She is also director of technical collaboration for the IGPH.

“We are focused on improving public health programs in India and reaching those who are most vulnerable in our society,” said Becker. “We are there as partners to learn together and create better programs that will make an impact.”

The UM team began in 2014 by adopting the policy goals of the India government and responding to their needs to build capacity in their public healthcare system. The GoUP prioritized the reduction of neonatal mortality as a central goal, as more than 45 newborns out of every 1,000 were dying within their first month of life.

To achieve this goal, the UM team developed systems and digital infrastructure to improve the availability and functionality of existing healthcare services. The systems range from human resources planning to supply chain management, data management, training and mentorship and research and analysis. These improved systems have helped the government and front-line providers provide higher quality and more accessible patient care, especially for women living in rural or remote areas.

A hospital in Lucknow Premis where newborns receive life-saving care and medical interventions.

Family planning is also being prioritized in Uttar Pradesh, where the UM is supporting the government with research and technical collaboration to improve access to modern contraceptives, nutrition and child and maternal health outcomes.

A large staff team has been deployed to support the planning and implementation of these transformative initiatives. Over 1,100 healthcare staff is in place including doctors, specialists, nurses and administrators. The scale of this work is significant and complex, with specialists assigned at the state, district, and village level to ensure the consistent implementation of programs and strategies across all 30,000 health facilities in Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Becker and Dr. Pinto pictured with healthcare facility staff.

Dr. Mario Pinto visits a community-level healthcare facility.

Transforming healthcare through data systems

A key outcome of the IGPH’s progress in India has been the development of digital support systems to collect and track valuable data across the healthcare system.

Established systems include the collection of data on the healthcare workforce to improve staffing management and identify gaps. A database has been developed to track equipment and essential drugs to ensure facilities are well-equipped to provide emergency care and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, while data is also being collected from front-line staff to track the delivery of services across the system and ensure coverage across the entire state.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, data management at scale was taken to another level when the UM team was asked to track all COVID-19 tests across the healthcare system. This system was so successful that the government has now expanded it to collect data on twelve notifiable diseases, including malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and others. This system collects significant amounts of data to allow the government to track outbreaks in real time and develop timely responses to emerging public health threats.

Report signals significant reduction in neonatal mortality

A new report published by the Government of India in summer 2023, the Exemplars in Maternal and Newborn Health India study, has found transformative progress in reducing maternal and newborn mortality over the last two decades. The report highlights key strategies and programs have made life-saving medical care widely accessible to mothers and newborns.

Key findings on health outcomes in Uttar Pradesh over the past 15 years include:

• A decrease in home births from 80% to 11%
• The neonatal mortality rate has decreased by 40%. This reduction has resulted in approximately 99,000 deaths being averted annually.
• The percentage of women accessing healthcare services during pregnancy has risen to 98%, representing a 38% improvement.

“I congratulate the Institute for Global Public Health team for achieving this international recognition of their work in India to provide high-quality and accessible medical care at scale for mothers and newborns,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice President (Research and International). “Through Drs Blanchard and Becker’s expertise and leadership, the region has taken bold steps to establish a highly efficient and integrated care system that saves lives and is there for everyone.”

CRCs are world leaders in their field funded by the Government of Canada in the areas of natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities. “These symposia were a wonderful opportunity for researchers to get to know each other’s specialties, and to spark new collaborations with students and the wider community,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “I thank all the CRCs for their groundbreaking contributions to address the issues faced by society today.”

This thought-provoking look at current UM research is available to view online, each featuring a brief presentation from the gathered CRCs followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience.

CRC Symposium 1, February 2, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Heather Armstrong, Chair in Integrative Bioscience; Guozhen Zhu, Chair in Mechanical and Functional Design of Nanostructured Materials; Trust Beta, Chair in Grain-Based Functional Foods; Eric Collins, Chair in Arctic Marine Microbial Ecosystem Services; Britt Drögemöller, Chair in Pharmacogenomics & Precision Medicine; Ned Budisa, Chair in Chemical Synthetic Biology and Xenobiology; Lori Wilkinson, Chair in Migration Futures; Jason Kindrachuk, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Sabine Mai, Chair in Genomic Instability and Nuclear Architecture in Cancer; Jörg Stetefeld, Chair in Structural Biology and Biophysics; Carl Ho, Chair in Efficient Utilization of Electric Power; and Nandika Bandara, Chair in Food Proteins.

CRC Symposium 2, February 27, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Tracie Afifi, Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience; Robert Lorway, Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation; Janilyn Arsenio, Chair in Systems Biology of Chronic Inflammation; Puyan Mojabi, Chair in Electromagnetic Inversion for Characterization and Design; Annette Desmarais, Chair in Human Rights, Social Justice and Food Sovereignty; Zulma Rueda, Chair in Program Sciences & Global Public Health; and Kathryn Sibley, Chair in Integrated Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Sciences.

CRC Symposium 3, March 28, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Ties Boerma, Chair in Population and Global Health; Kiera Ladner, Chair in Miyo we’citowin, Indigenous Governance & Digital Sovereignties; Rotimi Aluko, Chair in Bioactive Peptides; Zahra Moussavi, Chair in Biomedical Engineering; Terry Klassen, Chair in Clinical Trials; and Galen Wright, Chair in Neurogenomics.

CRC Symposium 4, April 24, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Lisa Lix, Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality; John Ataguba, Chair in Health Economics; Nicole Wilson, Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance; Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Chair in Molecular Cardiology; Meghan Azad, Chair in Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease; and Kristine Cowley, Chair in Function and Health after Spinal Cord Injury.

CRC Symposium 5, May 16, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Kristina Brown, Chair in Arctic Marine Biogeochemistry; Nicole Rosen, Chair in Language Interactions; Robert Mizzi, Chair in Queer, Community & Diversity Education; Samar Safi-Harb, Chair in Extreme Astrophysics; and Susan Logue, Chair in Cell Stress and Inflammation.

CRC Symposium 6, June 19, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Andrew Halayko, Chair in Chronic Lung Disease Pathobiology and Treatment; Colin Gilmore, Chair in Applied Electromagnetic Inversion; James Blanchard, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Marcelo Urquia, Chair in Applied Population Health; and Souradet Shaw, Chair in Program Science & Global Public Health.

On June 2, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, announced an investment of more than $102 million, in support of 119 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at 35 Canadian research institutions.

“Congratulations to our Canada Research Chairs on this most prestigious appointment or reinstatement,” said Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor at the U of M. “Their successful appointment recognizes them among the best in Canada in their respective fields, enhancing our collective effort to drive discovery, and greatly benefiting the experience of their students.”

The Research Chairs

Lori Wilkinson

Lori Wilkinson, Faculty of Arts, Sociology and Criminology, Peace and Conflict Studies, Canada Research Chair in Migration Futures, Tier 1

Dr. Wilkinson’s research as a public sociologist is profoundly integrated with the communities with which she works, and her results have demonstrable, significant impact both within the academy and far beyond. As a founder of Immigration Research West, she has undertaken significant research on the settlement experiences of immigrants and refugees. Some of these findings have been used to change national immigration policies, inform governments internationally, and most importantly, has helped introduce new programing in the immigration community.

Marcelo Urquia

Marcelo Urquia, Max Rady College of Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Canada Research Chair in Applied Population Health, Tier 2 (Renewed)

Dr. Urquia has advanced his research program focusing on the social determinants of health by building research infrastructure, attracting talented trainees, expanding collaborations, and continuing productivity. He has made various contributions to social epidemiology, reproductive health and understanding of immigrant-specific determinants of health, such as the environments of origin and destination, gender inequities, and the role of partners in shaping health behaviors. He acquired a database of all legal immigrants to Manitoba since 1985 and is completing acquisition of rich and unique family data with the potential to advance multisectoral family- and population-based research in the next five years.

Robert Lorway

Robert Lorway, Max Rady College of Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Canada Research Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation, Tier 2 (Renewal)

Dr. Lorway has made significant contributions to the social study of global health through a dynamic blend of community-based and critical ethnographic studies. Through the lens of “evidentiary sovereignty”, a novel conceptual framework he developed, his research sheds light on how knowledge production regimes in global health interventions transform (and become transformed by) the sociopolitical realities of disenfranchised people. His international research program attracted funding from

SSHRC, CIHR, and the Gates Foundation and engages a diversity of global health actors ranging from health activists, community leaders, and health officials to social scientists, epidemiologists, and microbiologists in Canada, South Asia, and Africa.

Jason Kindrachuk

Jason Kindrachuk, Max Rady College of Medicine, Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Pathogenesis of Emerging Viruses, Tier 2 (Renewal)

Dr. Kindrachuk established a multidisciplinary research program for characterizing emerging virus pathogenesis. This includes: i) identifying the mechanisms underlying Ebola virus testicular persistence and establishment of a disease survivor network in Sierra Leone for assessing long-term reproductive health impacts; ii) established kinome platform providing insights for the role of dysregulated host responses in  influenza-bacterial co-infections; and iii) creation of an international emerging virus consortium for studying emerging virus surveillance at the human-wildlife interface in equatorial Africa. Since 2017, this program has resulted in 19 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 2 book chapters, 2 federal reports, 13 grants and 8 highly qualified personnel trained.

Kristina Brown

Kristina Brown, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, Canada Research Chair in Arctic Marine Biogeochemistry, Tier 2

As an observational oceanographer, Dr. Brown is motivated by an interest in understanding the role of freshwater in the Polar ocean carbon cycle, and seawater sensitivity to Ocean Acidification, two societally relevant features of the ocean’s inorganic carbon system. Her research integrates the novel application of isotope geochemistry to understand carbon sources, trajectories, and transformation along the land-ice-ocean continuum to address questions that bridge the earth and ocean sciences. Dr. Brown focus has been on the Kitikmeot region of the southern Canadian Arctic Archipelago and has been working with partners in Nunavut to conduct year-round monitoring in local river systems.

Heather Armstrong

Heather Armstrong, Max Rady College of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Canada Research Chair in Integrative Bioscience, Tier 2

Dietary interventions remain an untapped field of research, and while the field typically focusses on the positive impacts of dietary factors in healthy individuals. Dr Armstrong’s work has highlighted a novel twist: the pro-inflammatory impact of select dietary factors in patients with dysbiosis (altered abundance and diversity of gut microbes). With a strong collaborative approach to research, she has established herself as an emerging leader in the development and implementation of organoid and ex vivo biopsy models for use in exhibiting patient response in a highly interdisciplinary laboratory setting. Results from her program will provide innovative opportunities to develop novel dietary and microbe-altering therapeutic interventions based on personalized precision medicine.

Today, with a new transformational investment of $87 million USD over five years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the partnership between the UM Institute for Global Public Health and the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) through the Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit (UP TSU) can continue to help GoUP drive down maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the region. This is achieved by working with local governments and other academic and development partners to strengthen health systems, to develop healthcare mentors and policies. All of which will continue to improve Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition (RMCHN).

Dr. James Blanchard, executive director of the Institute for Global Public Health in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at UM, believes all women and children deserve the same health opportunities that many in Canada take for granted.

“Each year there are over 5.5 million babies born in Uttar Pradesh, and so improving the outcomes for mothers and their newborns and children in that state is one of the most important public health initiatives in India and globally,” he says.

In order to improve survival rates, programs like nurse mentoring and home visits where new mothers learn ways to properly feed their newborns from UP TSU-trained nurses can be life-changing.

For Vandana Singh, a nurse at DCH Manjhanpur, the continuous mentoring support she received through the program helped ensure she and other staff nurses were able to manage maternal and neonatal issues at the facility.

“This has increased my confidence in managing maternity complications independently,” she says.

Singh and other UP TSU-trained midwives and frontline workers are also able to support new mothers in their own homes by performing regular assessments and educating mothers on newborn care. The mentoring programs initially designed and supported through the partnership between the UM team and the Government of Uttar Pradesh is now being funded and managed by the government of Uttar Pradesh across the state. It has improved the overall quality of care in health care facilities and communities.

Long serving doctors are noting the difference as well, not only in the improvement of clinical care from the hospital staff, but also in the availability and quality of equipment and other resources within the health care facilities.

This “has led to optimum functioning of the facility, thus serving the community with the right kind of services at the right time, resulting in a positive and safe birthing experience,” says Dr. Ravindra Singh, Rtd., the chief medical superintendent at the District Women’s Hospital in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.

All lives have equal value is the driving force behind the investment decisions of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Advanced programming, training and policies guided by GoUP through UP TSU and supported by UM researchers that prioritize the health of pregnant women and their children have led to the decrease of neonatal mortality rates to 36 per 1,000 live births in 2019. This forms the basis for this most recent investment in the ongoing partnership with the UM and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

“With this new investment, we will be supporting the government in scaling up critical initiatives across the state and optimizing programs at the community level, within health facilities and through health systems strengthening,” says Dr. Marissa Becker, UM associate professor, Department of Community Health Sciences and director of technical collaborations at the Institute for Global Public Health.

View the video to see the women and children in Uttar Pradesh that are impacted by this partnership.

And the University of Manitoba is there.

Dr. Marissa Becker [MD/99] is an associate professor in the department of community health sciences and the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She is also director of technical collaboration for the Institute for Global Public Health (IGPH).

In Delhi, her role with IGPH supports UM projects in India.

Dr. Marissa Becker

UM has been working in India since the early 2000s, beginning with work on HIV prevention and care led by Drs. James Blanchard and Stephen Moses. Since then, the work has expanded to maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning, and health systems strengthening, as well as work on infectious disease surveillance and tuberculosis.

Becker notes: “We currently work in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh. Our biggest program is in Uttar Pradesh in partnership with India Health Action Trust, where we work with the local government to run a Technical Support Unit (TSU) on maternal and child health. We support the government in achieving its health goals in the areas of maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, family planning and health system strengthening.”

The UM TSU team, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is large, with about 1,200 people, mostly local residents, providing technical support for programs at the state level and local community level. They work with frontline workers, health care providers, health systems, data, and they design and implement surveys.

Becker explains: “The TSU team is headed by Dr. Vasanth Kumar who has an appointment with UM community health sciences, as do many of our senior core team members from India.

In addition to the team in India, we have a number of UM faculty who support the work, including Drs. Stephen Moses, Maryanne Crockett, Rob Lorway, Shiva Halli, Lisa Avery, Ties Boerma, and BM Ramesh. Dr. James Blanchard is lead of the TSU team in Uttar Pradesh. A number of our postdoctoral students and other graduate students are also engaged.”

When the pandemic hit India a year ago, UM researchers were asked by the government of Uttar Pradesh to help provide support in dealing with the pandemic. They created and implemented a multi-pronged strategy using data for decision making and helped establish a very comprehensive COVID-19 surveillance system for the state. In addition, they provided training and support to front line workers in the community around prevention measures and community surveillance. Further, they supported forecasting for strategic planning of equipment and supplies and helped in conducting COVID seroprevalence studies.

With the tidal wave of COVID cases today, the UM team is working with the government to help address the very serious and very dire oxygen shortages.

Becker says: “The situation here is very difficult- and the health system in many areas across the country is overwhelmed- the impact is immense. The health care facilities are full and many have insufficient equipment and supplies. Families are really struggling. On top of their trying to cope with loved ones that are sick, many are incurring significant financial costs — catastrophic out of pocket expenses.”

She explains that the vaccination program in India started out strong but unfortunately the total proportion of the population immunized was still very low when this latest wave hit.

“I fear that the country will have a difficult time in catching up quickly enough to address this current wave,” she says. “In the meantime, other prevention measures have been put back in place with lockdowns in many states across the country. We are also now seeing many countries step up with support now, but I’m worried about the shift to more cases in the rural areas and also to neighbouring countries in the region in which we are seeing increases in cases — and these countries are also facing shortages of vaccines.”

Becker admits that the pandemic is affecting her personally to some extent.

“Many of our team members and their families have been affected,” she says sadly. “Many friends and colleagues are trying desperately to help their loved ones find a bed, find medicines, to provide care to them. You can hear people’s frustrations, grief and exhaustion when you speak with them.”

Becker believes that the UM community should be proud of the UM response in India. “Not only has our team played an active role in addressing the pandemic, but it has also tried to help the state of Uttar Pradesh ensure that many of the consequences of the pandemic, such as interrupted health care services, have been mitigated. We have worked very hard to ensure the quick and safe return of full services for ensuring maternal and child health.”

Finally, Becker appeals to all of us in taking the situation seriously.

“Sitting here in Delhi now, I want to convey that this is a global emergency and we need to treat it as such — with upmost speed in rolling out vaccination programs, and ensure access to all- within our own country, but also globally,” she explains. “We must learn from this pandemic in effort to prevent and better address future epidemics, and mitigate their very significant consequences, including the tremendous health,  social and financial impacts.”

She adds: “As academics, we need to keep making sure we are using science and appropriate data to inform our response to the pandemic. It’s so critical right now. I think our projects here demonstrate the use of data for decision making.”

“India has been trying hard to address the pandemic, but the public health system is not as well equipped as it needs to be,” says Dr. Marissa Becker, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor of community health sciences, internal medicine and medical microbiology.

Becker, a UM alumna in medicine, works for the UM Centre for Global Public Health (CGPH), which is part of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She, her husband and their two sons have lived in India for the past two years.

On March 23, with just five hours’ notice to pack up and catch a departing flight, they followed the Canadian government’s advice to return to Manitoba. India is now under a nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Becker is now in post-travel self-isolation at a family member’s house in Winnipeg. She is determined to do as much as she can to keep supporting India’s pandemic fight via email, phone and videoconference.

“I had very mixed emotions about leaving,” she says. “I hope to get back as soon as I can. We’re all in this together.”

The state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India has a population of roughly 223 million. The University of Manitoba leads the Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The unit, established in 2013, employs about 1,200 people. It works in partnership with the India Health Action Trust to support the Uttar Pradesh government in strengthening maternal and child health, nutrition and family planning.

A number of faculty members from the CGPH, including Dr. James Blanchard, director of the CGPH, and Dr. Stephen Moses, associate director, travel regularly to Uttar Pradesh. All have left India for the time being.

In light of the pandemic crisis, Becker says, the Technical Support Unit has responded to the Uttar Pradesh government’s request for help with urgent priorities such as assessing medical supplies and health facility preparedness, creating a state-wide command centre and setting up a call centre. 

“We’re applying our health-system expertise to analyzing data on things like the supply of hospital beds, ventilators and personal protective equipment for health-care providers,” Becker says.

“We’re developing a phone line similar to the Health Links line in Manitoba, where people can call with questions related to COVID. A key concern is making sure people in the rural and remote areas can access the call centre and get information in a timely manner.”    

The unit is also producing guidelines for health-care facilities on procedures such as infection control and managing patients with COVID-19.    

The professor has high praise for the Technical Support Unit team and health workers on the ground in Uttar Pradesh. She herself is based in Delhi, a city of more than 20 million people.

She works in a six-person office that supports all the health projects in India in which UM is involved, including HIV units in Delhi and the state of Karnataka, and a new unit to support public health in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Becker hopes to play a part in Manitoba’s pandemic-fighting effort as soon as she’s out of isolation. Meanwhile, her thoughts are with her friends and colleagues in locked-down India. The country’s dense population, widespread poverty and inequitable access to health care pose daunting challenges during the pandemic and lockdown, she says.       

“I think of all the people who are daily wage labourers, not being able to go to work and buy food,” she says. “Crises like this always hit the most vulnerable the hardest.

“Ever since the U of M started to partner in improving public health programs in India nearly 20 years ago, reaching those who are most vulnerable has been one of our core principles.”