Helga Fogstad is the Director of Health Programs at UNICEF. With over 30 years of experience in global health, having led programs at national and international levels, including as Executive Director of PMNCH and Director at the Norwegian Agency for Development, Helga is a global health expert and health economist, who has contributed to multiple global health initiatives, partnerships, and publications with a focus on Africa.

After years at organizations like PMNHC and NORAD, you’re currently leading global health programs at UNICEF. What motivates your continued focus on maternal and newborn health? 

What continues to motivate me is how much of this agenda is still unfinished. We have made remarkable progress over the past decades, but too many women and newborns are still dying from causes we know how to prevent. In fact, for the first time in over 2 decades, we fear that the number of mothers and newborns dying every year may increase from the already alarming 2.3 million newborn deaths and 270,000 maternal deaths every year.
 
I’ve spent much of my career working at every level of the system, from communities to facilities to national policy to global partnerships, and what strikes me is that the solutions are not new. What is missing is equitable access to those solutions, especially for the most vulnerable populations, many of whom are in Africa where I have worked for many years. 
 
Maternal, newborn, and child health is also a powerful entry point into stronger health systems. If a system can provide quality care at the time of birth, often the most critical moment, it can provide care across the life course. That is what continues to drive me: the opportunity to translate what we know works into real, sustained impact at scale. 

How do you see the role of partnerships in strengthening healthcare systems globally? 

Partnerships are absolutely essential, but only when they move beyond coordination to real alignment. The biggest challenge in global health today is not a lack of actors, but fragmentation. We often have strong individual efforts that don’t fully connect at a country level. The most effective partnerships are those that align behind national priorities, support country-led plans, and bring complementary strengths – whether that is financing, technical expertise, or implementation capacity. 
 
At UNICEF, we see partnerships as a way to bridge critical gaps in health systems: connecting global financing with local delivery, linking innovation with frontline workers, and ensuring that investments translate into real services for communities. 
Ultimately, strong partnerships should make systems more coherent, more efficient, and more accountable – not more complex, so that at the end of the day, health systems deliver for children, especially the most vulnerable ones.

UNICEF has a long history of collaboration with Laerdal Global Health (LGH). What makes this partnership unique? 

What makes this partnership unique is its very practical focus on saving lives at the point of care. It brings together complementary strengths in a very deliberate way: Laerdal Global Health’s expertise in simulation and training, UNICEF’s reach within national health systems, especially at Primary Health Care facilities and communities, and strong government leadership. This combination allows us to move beyond pilots and focus on what it takes to improve quality of care in real-world settings.  
 
Another important aspect is that the partnership is grounded in continuous learning. This includes using embedded implementation research and data to understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions, and to adapt approaches in real time. It is not just about introducing tools, but about strengthening teams, improving routines, and embedding change within health systems. 
 
That focus on implementation, on what actually happens in a delivery room or a district hospital, is what makes the partnership both unique and impactful.  

One collaboration has been the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) in Tanzania. What do you think has made SBBC so impactful?

What makes the Safer Births Bundle of Care so impactful is that it addresses the reality of how care is delivered, not just what should be done, but how teams actually work in practice. 
 
It combines several elements: regular, hands-on training; better use of data; and changes in how teams organize and respond during emergencies. This creates a culture of continuous improvement within facilities. 
 
Importantly, it shows that innovation is not only about new technologies. It is about improving systems, skills, and teamwork. In Tanzania, we have seen how this approach can lead to significant reductions in maternal and newborn mortality because it strengthens the quality of care where it matters most – at the time of birth. SBBC is a powerful example of how relatively simple, well-designed interventions can have a major impact when they are implemented consistently and at scale. 

UNICEF is also working with LGH in Nepal and Nigeria. What are some common themes and lessons?

Each country brings a very different context, and that is exactly why adaptation is so important. 
 
In Nepal, there has been strong integration within the health system and a focus on embedding approaches into existing training and service delivery structures. In Nigeria, the scale and diversity of the system require a more decentralized approach, with strong emphasis on state-level ownership and adaptation. 
 
Despite these differences, the common lessons are clear. First, success depends on strong national and subnational leadership. Second, health workers are central—without investing in their skills, motivation, and support, scale is not possible. And third, solutions must be adapted to local realities rather than replicated as fixed models. What works is not copying a model but translating principles into each context.

From your perspective, how do we best scale maternal newborn health innovations that are proven to work?  

One of the biggest shifts we need to make is to stop thinking about scaling innovations in isolation and instead focus on scaling health interventions—with innovations as enablers. 
We already know many of the interventions that save lives. The challenge is that they are not delivered consistently or equitably. Scaling requires strong primary health care systems, inclusive of community health: trained and supported health workers, reliable supply chains, sustainable financing, and functioning data systems. 
 
There are also very practical barriers like adaptation to local contexts, ensuring demand and ownership among health workers, and aligning financing so that initiatives can be sustained, ensuring that communities are involved both in the design of the innovation, but also in the scale- up.   
 
Scale only happens when governments are involved in innovations right from the conceptual stage and pilot, lead the scale-up, and when there is predictable financing behind it. Without that, even the best innovations remain just a pilot.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the broader value of partnerships for maternal and newborn health?

The broader value is that these partnerships show what is possible and help translate that into sustained, system-wide change. 
 
They allow us to bring together different types of expertise: public sector leadership, private sector innovation, and global and local implementation capacity. When this is aligned, it can accelerate progress in ways that no single actor can achieve alone. 
 
Importantly, strong partnerships also help mobilize financing. By demonstrating results, they can make a compelling case for increased domestic investment in health systems, particularly in workforce building, infrastructure, and essential supplies. 
 
Even more importantly, strong partnerships enhance coordination to ensure, in part, that coordinated investments are aligned with national strategies, advocacy, and accountability. In that sense, partnerships are not just about delivering projects; they are about shaping how countries invest in and strengthen their health systems for the long term.

Globally, countries are facing a health workforce crisis.  How can this challenge be addressed? 

The health workforce crisis is one of the most critical constraints we face, particularly in Africa. Addressing it requires a shift from short-term solutions to long-term investment. This means not only training more health workers, but also ensuring they are paid, supported, and able to work in safe and functional environments. 
 
Community health workers are especially important, as investing in at-scale and fully optimized programs can yield a USD14 return for every dollar invested. They are often first and sometimes the only point of contact for families, providing integrated services and serving as vital link between communities and facility-based primary health care. But too often they are under-supported and under-recognized.  
 
We also need stronger alignment between education systems, health system needs, and financing. Ultimately, this is not just a health issue, it is a political and economic priority that requires sustained commitment that brings social benefits both now and in the future. 

Finally, what do you believe partnerships should focus on as we move forward?

Moving forward together requires a clear focus on what will make the biggest difference. 

First, we need to prioritize scale which means moving beyond pilots and ensuring that proven interventions reach those who need them most.  
 
Second, we need stronger alignment behind country-led plans, reducing fragmentation and working more effectively as partners. 
 
Third, we must invest in the foundations of health systems: the workforce, primary health care, and sustainable financing. As external funding becomes more constrained, prioritizing investments in line with the Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE) initiative and Child Survival Action targets, as well as domestic investment and private sector engagement will be increasingly important. 
 
And finally, we need to keep equity at the center. Progress will ultimately be measured by whether we are reaching the most vulnerable women, children, and adolescents. 
That is what “moving forward together” should mean in practice.