Health

The maternal and child health program includes a combination of national and community-level activities designed to: improve policies and healthcare management; increase access to proven and effective primary health care services; and increase community-level demand for these services. USAID will accomplish this by providing: (1) training, technical assistance, and commodities to improve the delivery and quality of child and maternal health services; (2) technical assistance and training in institutional development to improve and decentralize the Ministry of Health's (MOH) management systems; (3) training and technical assistance to communities on how to promote better health care, including strengthening the capacity of local groups to conduct successful behavior change communication activities; and (4) training and technical assistance to the MOH and communities in planning health systems administration, the use of data for decision making, financial management, and the development of priority services and protocols.

Some examples of the types of activities that USAID engages in under this program are:

• USAID is improving access to and demand for quality pediatric health and nutrition services by building capacity and knowledge within healthcare facilities and communities. Technical assistance and training for health authorities and communities is focused on vaccine-preventable diseases, malaria prevention, malnutrition, Vitamin A deficiency, and diarrhea diseases. Assistance will be delivered through the “Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses” (IMCI) and community-based distribution approaches. Training of community and facility-based health workers is improving the diagnosis and management of malaria, as well as counseling of patients and infection prevention.
  
• USAID is increasing access and demand for maternal health -- including reproductive health -- and nutrition services through training and technical assistance delivered to district and provincial healthcare workers and communities. Technical assistance and training for healthcare professionals and communities in maternal health and nutrition is focused on vaccine-preventable diseases, malaria in pregnancy, maternal malnutrition, provision of post-partum Vitamin A, and community-based distribution approaches. The USAID-designed family planning/child spacing policy is being adopted in 2005. Family planning and reproductive health resources are funding training and technical assistance to improve service delivery, supervision of health workers, and logistics systems. Training of community and facility-based health workers will improve the quality of antenatal care, ensure early detection and management of malaria, and improve counseling, contraceptive security, and infection prevention. All family planning assistance agreements are incorporating clauses that implement the President’s directive restoring the Mexico City Policy.

USAID is strengthening the capacity of ministry staff to improve vital national systems for planning health services and for monitoring program performance. To foster improved maternal and child health, USAID is also developing policies, guidelines, and protocols in several technical areas, e.g. malaria, epidemic response, advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation. The program will result in better defined roles and responsibilities within MOH departments and ensure that ministry staff are sufficiently trained to effectively carry-out their duties. Health care providers at the central level and in the four target provinces (Zambezia, Nampula, Gaza, and Maputo Province) are receiving essential management and leadership training. USAID financing and technical assistance at all levels -- central, provincial, district, and community -- is ensuring the efficient and timely provision of contraceptives and child survival products through improved logistics management.

By the end of this program, USAID will have significantly increased childhood immunization coverage; reduced the maternal mortality rate; and increased use of modern methods of contraception in target areas.