“This four eighty-five can save many, many lives,” Burke said.

Burke expanded his focus to the importance of financial and entrepreneurial involvement in maternal health issues. He called for business, cultural, and regional collaboration to incite change in the maternal medical community.

“Science has shown us that investing in women and in girls has an enormous economic return, an enormous social return,” Burke said. “This return allows for lifting families and communities out of poverty.”

HUHMI was co-founded last fall by its current president Michelle J. Wang ’14 and advocacy and outreach co-director Eunice Kim ’15. Regarding the motivations to start the group, Wang said there was a lack of specific interest in maternal health on campus.

Last spring, HUMHI organized a week to raise awareness surrounding topics in maternal health. In the future, Dylan V. Neel ’15, the group’s research and development co-director, said HUHMI hopes to continue its advocacy work by reaching out to groups at the Harvard Innovation Lab to achieve a more entrepreneurial focus.