The baby box research team focuses on the ways the maternity package concept has been adapted to meet local needs around the world. The research group is led by Dr. Annariina Koivu. The team members come from different academic fields and backgrounds.
Members
Annariina Koivu
Principal Investigator
Annariina Koivu has spent several years working in an international consortium focused on preventing low birthweight globally. She is currently undertaking her MSCA Fellowship year at Johns Hopkins University, supported by European Union funding. Her fellowship project, InTime, examines how optimising the timing of antenatal interventions can lead to more equitable and higher-quality care for mothers and babies.
Annariina holds an MSc in Global Health and Public Policy from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Global Health from Trinity College Dublin. Her multidisciplinary academic background, combined with NGO and professional experience, has taken her to live in six countries across the globe, including South Africa. Beyond her work on social innovation in maternal and child health, she is passionate about health systems strengthening, social protection, and holistic health information systems. Annariina brings expertise in large-scale systematic literature reviews, impact assessment, and transdisciplinary research to all her projects.
Yen Phan
Researcher
Yen focuses on the rights of the child and the practical parts of program implementation, including challenges and good practices. She is a pharmacist from Vietnam with an academic background in pharmacy and global health.
Jad Abuhamed
Researcher
In the Baby Box project, Jad focuses on maternity package in refugee settings. He is a medical doctor from Syria interested in child health research.
Ella Näsi
Researcher, Press Officer
Ella focuses on the health education materials, which are often included in the baby boxes. She is also focusing on the various ways that the baby box programs are promoted to the potential beneficiaries, the funders and the policy makers. Ella is a communication specialist by background with experience from health communication, conference promotion and management.
Brittany Perry
Visiting Researcher
Brittany is a visiting researcher from the University of South Florida on a grant from the Fulbright Finland Foundation from 2019-2020 interested in global and public health.
ADVISORS
Professor Meri Koivusalo
Professor Emerita Anneli Milén
Associate Professor Salla Atkins