International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026

The moment

Every few years the global maternal and newborn health community comes together: ministries of health, multilateral institutions, researchers, clinicians, funders and country delegations. In March 2026 it came to Nairobi for the second International Maternal Newborn Health Conference, following Cape Town in 2023.

The conference is convened through AlignMNH, with Jhpiego as Secretariat lead and funding from the Gates Foundation. We partnered with Jhpiego from June 2025 to design and deliver it. With country delegations, global funders and institutional leaders in the room, there was no margin for operational error.

Designing for 1,800, not 800

The original brief projected around 800 delegates. 1,800 came. That meant moving 1,800 people through accreditation without queues, guiding international arrivals, many in Nairobi for the first time, and running parallel sessions across 40 spaces with simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Portuguese.

We integrated the client’s registration software with our own and set up ten on-site printing stations with QR code readers. Wayfinding ran from directional and room signage to session boards and a pocket guide in every delegate bag. Country delegation spaces, quiet rooms, a lactation room and speaker preparation rooms were planned into the venue from the start.

Across 40 rooms, a main ballroom that divided into three and two tented breakout spaces, every room had its own team: a producer, sound engineer, AV and lighting technicians, a videographer and ushers, with a floor coordinator accountable for each floor.

Choreographing the programme

The main ballroom was rebuilt five times in four days, moving between plenary, awards, panel and closing set-ups. The exhibition rotated showcases for 21 exhibitors, and breakout rooms reset between sessions, all inside the windows of tea breaks and lunch.

Fifteen vendor partners across AV, staging, branding and catering worked from parallel task lists tied to one timeline, and every vendor had the full turnaround plan before the event. One coordinator on site called each transition and confirmed readiness before every session. Five stage builds and a dozen room resets were each completed in under 30 minutes.

Sustainability as an operating principle

Sustainability was built in from sourcing onwards. Branding was produced by local vendors, cutting freight emissions and supporting Nairobi’s production sector. Stage carpets and drapes were designed for reuse, badge holders were collected for recovery, and refillable bottles replaced single-use plastic for the crew. Registration paper waste was shredded on site for controlled disposal, and student support came from Events Academy alumni and volunteers.

An independent audit across four event phases, using a waste-hierarchy method, scored the conference 81%, an On Track Performer.

Nine and a half months, no incidents

Over nine and a half months, from early planning to the post-conference Steering Committee meeting, Waridi led local delivery throughout. We ran transport across six delegate hotels with an airport welcoming committee, medical cover with ambulances and a fire engine on site, registration and onsite flow for 1,800 delegates, interpretation in three languages, a dedicated exhibition marquee and catering across three floors.

The result: no medical incidents, no security incidents and no disruption to the programme.