Results Highlight. A highlight of CARE’s Child Survival Project in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, was the extremely successful breastfeeding promotion strategy. A comparison of the data from the Baseline Survey done in February 1999 and the final Knowledge, Practice, and Coverage Survey in August 2002 shows dramatic results. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months increased by 40.8% (from 10% to 50.8%). Continued breastfeeding
Results Highlight. Maternity Waiting Homes (MWH) As a Strategy to Reduce Maternal and Neonatal Mortality: Maternal Waiting Homes are residential facilities located within easy reach of a hospital or health center. The purpose of a MWH is to house women near an essential obstetric facility during the final weeks of pregnancy. By using this strategy, PMNH aims to improve access to skilled delivery in partner facilities for women living in distant villages and to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes by averting care-seeking delays.
Results Highlight. The CS-16 program activities have been successfully implemented by SC in Memba and Nacala- a-Velha, in collaboration with the provincial and district level health workers. The Strength Project focused on: (a) the establishment of system strengthening through the establishment of a Program Management Team (PMT) at the district level to enhance SC-DHO partnership for program planning, monitoring, evaluation and sustainability of program activities; and (b) the establishment of Community Health Teams (CHTs) at the community level through strengthening the community component of MCH to monitor and support the activities of the community health workers. The above two aspects of program activities were reviewed during the FE and it was confirmed through interviews and document review that this novel approach that focused on capacity building of health workers at the district and community levels has been a success. This innovative approach should be shared with partners in Mozambique so that it can be replicated in other parts of Mozambique, where such an approach has not been fully tested.
Results Highlight. The Strength Project in the impoverished districts of Nacala-Velha and Memba, in Nampula province, northern Mozambique, has set to contribute to: (1) sustainably reduce MMR, and U5MR; (2) sustainably improve the capability of DHOs and communities to respond to health needs; and (3) develop innovative approaches to inform policy and practices of SC and other partners. The main strategies are: (1) Partnership and Institutional Development for District Health System Strengthening through a Program Management Team (PMT) to enhance SC-DHO partnership for program planning, monitoring and evaluation, capacity-building and sustainability of program activities, and (2) Strengthening community component of maternal and child health through support for Community Health Teams (CHTs) that would monitor and support the activities of community health workers in the Regulados. The institutional capacity building approach is not novel in Mozambique and many attempts have been tried at national, provincial and lately district level with somewhat uncertain results. However, capacity building at the community level is unique in Mozambique and Nacala-Velha and Memba are the pilot districts. In here, 46 regulados, geographic and traditional authority areas, were identified, with a beneficiary population of 134,229 reproductive age women and children under five. Contacts were made with the xxxxxx and his advisor, the apiamwene, to create a CHT that includes respectable members of the community such as traditional healers, traditional birth attendants, religious leaders, teachers, health activists and mothers. These 46 CHTs, totaling a total of 332 people with balanced gender participation, have received training to provide the communities with the tools and skills they need to promote their own ongoing development, including leadership, organizational skills, health education, behavior and information. CHT have been active since and are well on their way to effectively discuss and solve their health problems. As it was stated by the staff “they see change happening”. A spillover of this democratic approach is empowerment of women. Women now speak in public when before they would not dare, limiting themselves to silent listening during palestras or health talks. Now they are active, ask more questions and have started demanding services from the district health authorities especially for more traditional birth attendants and more FP services. They also attend more preventative se...
Results Highlight. Ichilo Province Nutrition and Health Behaviors Survey
Results Highlight. The goal of the Plan XX XXX project was to create a sustained reduction in infant and child mortality through increased access to community-based health care and improved quality of health services in the project area. This goal was achieved through the implementation of a pilot project using the IMCI approach, which improved local access to preventive and curative services through capacity building interventions that targeted households, communities and health facilities. The project supported the MOH community outreach policy to empower communities to improve local health resources and increase access to health services. Sustainability has been ensured by strengthening the capacity of community resource persons (Health Area Committee Representatives, TBAs), community-based organizations (women’s groups), and the MOH staff (HCNs, community pharmacy workers) to provide quality services in the project area. Project interventions were strengthened using BCC activities designed to raise awareness about health issues and promote health-seeking behaviors. At the same time that communities were being empowered to take charge of their health needs, the project worked through its MOH partnership to strengthen the services of the health facilities by providing needed supplies and equipment and re-training staff. In addition, the project set up systems to assure delivery of outreach services to affiliated communities. It also worked to improve the functioning of the Health Area Committees. The XX XXX project was located in three Health Districts of the western part of Cameroon’s heavily forested Eastern Province. The province is Cameroon’s poorest and borders the Democratic Republic of Congo. Plan has been working in this large, sparsely populated province since 1996. The project benefited inhabitants of 267 villages (a total population of 211,2643) located in 27 Health Areas of Bertoua, Doume and Nguelemendouka health districts. The project targeted approximately 95,024 beneficiaries with 38,009 children under five, 8,447 infants 0 to 11 months and 48,568 women of reproductive age (15 to 49). Significant results were demonstrated using the IMCI approach, as shown in the table below. IMCI Indicator Baseline Final Trained Final Untrained The number of children 0-23 months seen at health facilities that were assessed for all danger signs 10.5% 72% 42.3% The number of caretakers who were correctly counseled about their sick child 36.3% 97% 65.4% The number of caretaker...
Results Highlight. Integrated Partnerships with the MOH Yields High-Impact Results
Results Highlight. Plan Mali attempted to calculate the number of lives saved between 2001 and 2006 (Lives Saved Analysis) in the Kita project area by use of the Bellagio calculator. The Bellagio Group on Child Survival represents many technical agencies. It published the 2003 Child Survival and 2005 Neonatal Survival articles in the Lancet. The Bellagio group estimated the percentage of deaths attributable to the six most common causes of child mortality (diarrhea, pneumonia, measles, malaria, HIV/AIDS and neonatal causes) in 42 high mortality countries including Mali. It reviewed the literature for interventions supported by the evidence as effective against these six main causes and estimated the effect size of these interventions from the literature. The calculator estimates the number of deaths attributable to the six main causes and accounts for both the effects of malnutrition on mortality and the effect of interventions on multiple conditions (e.g. Vitamin A reduces measles, diarrhea and malaria deaths). It also avoids double counts. Lives saved for each intervention is given by the product of baseline number of deaths for that cause, intervention effectiveness and change of coverage. Given the dire baseline situation in Kita, the relative contribution of malaria to child mortality in the Kayes Region of Mali and the widespread availability and use of ITNs through the RBM, UNICEF’s ACSD and Kita CSP programs, the results of lives saved are very impressive. The project was able to save 2879 lives in the course of its 5 years which approximates to under $1000 per life saved. In the last year of the project alone it is estimated that it saved 514 lives from malaria, 304 lives from pneumonia, 205 lives from diarrhea, 93 lives from neonatal causes, 34 lives from measles and zero from HIV/AIDS for a total of 1151 lives saved. This makes the Kita CSP a highly efficient program worth emulation in the region.
Results Highlight. The SECI (Community Epidemiology Surveillance System) Methodology
