The Global Group Antenatal Care Collaborative (the Collaborative) was conceived in October 2015 at the Global Maternal Neonatal Health conference in Mexico City by the organizers and participants of a panel on group care. The Collaborative was initially designed to connect researchers actively exploring group care models for the provision of antenatal care in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).  In March of 2016, Jhpiego hosted a 1-day meeting that officially established the Collaborative.

The primary goal of the Collaborative is to support an open forum where researchers can learn, share, and build partnerships in this emerging field and inform an active research agenda and prioritization. The specific goals of the Collaborative include, but are not limited to:

Defining:

• Group care (minimal necessary components)

• Key principles/best practices of group antenatal care

• A recommended minimum set of core indicators to track in research and implementation of GANC

Sharing and, as appropriate, disseminating relevant research study protocols, tools, and findings;

Identifying research gaps and opportunities; and

Advocating for group antenatal care at major conferences and other academic events