USAID Partners with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Laerdal Medical AS and others to help reduce infant mortality in the developing world FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18, 2010 Press Office: 202-712-4320 Public Information: 202-712-4810 www.usaid.gov

 This year’s conference, which is themed “Integrating Business Solutions for Expanding Access,” distinguishes itself as the premier business development forum to address the role of the U.S. and African private sectors in strengthening health systems in Africa through commercial ventures, public-private partnerships and other investment vehicles. The conference will provide opportunities to network with leaders from the African and U.S.

Maidy Luhanga weighed not more than a 2-pound bag of sugar when she arrived in this world: she could fit in the palm of a hand. Born six weeks premature on March 11, 2009, Maidy was lucky that her HIV-positive mother who lives in a remote village in northern Malawi gave birth in Rumphi District Hospital in the rural town of the same name. Baby Maidy was immediately whisked to a unit specializing in Kangaroo Mother Care, a program designed to use a mother’s body warmth and skin-to-skin contact to nurture and sustain low-birth weight babies.