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World Map
Highlights by Country
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Networks' Focus Countries
NGO Networks for Health (Networks) works in five countries -- Ethiopia, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Malawi, and Nicaragua -- implementing projects designed to:
- Build the capacity of private voluntary organizations (PVOs) to provide sustainable, quality community-based information and services in family planning, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS;
- Promote knowledge and services at the community level to foster sustained, improved reproductive health practices;
- Expand and sustain networks of PVOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide quality integrated reproductive health services and information.
These country project activities are implemented, monitored, and sustained by a network of PVOs in collaboration with local NGOs and the Ministry of Health, and are funded by USAID. Each project includes a reproductive health service delivery component to reach out to communities, behavior change activities to promote improved reproductive health practices, and monitoring and evaluation efforts to measure progress. Nicaragua and Malawi also have large network development components to enhance the reach of these activities into remote areas; the networks are designed to build capacities of local NGOs and expand the coverage of reproductive health services.
Ethiopia
Networks' efforts in Ethiopia will be launched in late May 2001, with PLAN International as the lead PVO. The project aims to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity by increasing the availability of and access to quality reproductive health services, with a particular focus on increasing family planning coverage. The four PVO Partners will integrate strategically selected interventions into their existing health projects to provide women and families access to a comprehensive package of facility- and community-based family planning and post-abortion services and information. Specific programmatic interventions will include:
- Strengthening facility and community-based family planning services and counseling;
- Improving facility and community-based post-abortion services and increasing community awareness of post-abortion complications;
- Raising community awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS control and prevention measures.
The extent and focus of the PVO Partners' involvement in these interventions depends on the "readiness" of their existing programs. For example, both Save the Children and CARE have already strengthened the emergency obstetric care services in their hospitals and are ready to introduce post-abortion care at the facility level. In contrast, ADRA and PLAN International have not worked at the facility level to strengthen obstetric skills; thus, they will focus on increasing community awareness of the dangers of unsafe abortion. All of the Partners will aim to increase family planning coverage using facility and community-based approaches.
Tajikistan
Networks' project in the Varzob district of Tajikistan was launched in April 2001, with CARE as the lead PVO. The goal of the project is to increase community access to quality reproductive health services and strengthen community knowledge and skills in the application of primary care measures. The project will focus on:
- Strengthening basic obstetric clinical skills and knowledge of midwives working in the periphery service areas;
- Increasing women's and families' knowledge about maintaining reproductive and sexual health.
The training of midwives will be carried out in collaboration with the CARE FEMME and Save the Children projects, with technical support provided by staff and consultants from the American College of Nurse Midwives. All three projects are working in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and in accordance with the National Program of the Republic of Tajikistan, Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights until 2003.
Vietnam
Networks' project in Quang Xuong district, a district in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province, was launched in September 1999. The project is designed to provide quality safe motherhood services and information at the district and commune levels by strengthening providers' basic and emergency obstetric knowledge and skills and establishing safe motherhood resource and learning centers. The presence of all five Networks Partners in Vietnam provides a sound and wide base of expertise and local experience as well as a new opportunity for collaboration. The project has:
- Established a training and resource center for disseminating best practices in safe motherhood;
- Trained six district trainers (doctors, midwives, and nurses) and several provincial trainers in basic and emergency obstetric care skills and prepared them to provide refresher training for commune health station providers;
- Provided training in basic obstetric skills and knowledge to commune health station providers from 22 of Quang Xuong's 41 communes;
- Completed a qualitative study of pregnancy and childbirth behaviors in Quang Xuong to inform the community behavior change strategy.
Future activities include:
- Training the providers from the remaining 19 Quang Xuong communes in basic obstetric care;
- Beginning community mobilization and education activities;
- Expanding the project to Dakrong district, a small, remote district in Quang Tri province that includes only 13 communes. Activities will focus on the following priorities: (a) the reduction of maternal mortality by promoting trained attendants at birth (many women deliver by themselves); (b) the expansion of demand for and access to maternal health services; and (c) the promotion of family planning. Project activities will include training of providers to carry out basic obstetric care in the community, including the training of clinical midwives in home deliveries, and implementing a comprehensive community-based behavior change strategy.
Secretariat
Networks' five Partners have joined together to form a locally registered NGO. In the second year of the project, they are poised to leverage funds from USAID and other donors to expand the reproductive health, safe motherhood, and HIV/AIDS activities in Vietnam.
Malawi
Networks Partners have formed the Umoyo Network to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic and reproductive health needs of Malawians. The Partner organizations work together and engage public and private sector organizations at national and community level to foster networks that enhance the scale and quality of family planning, reproductive health, child survival, and HIV/AIDS/STI programs. The Network funds NGOs to undertake activities, including:
- Community-based reproductive health and HIV/AIDS education and services
- Voluntary HIV counseling and testing
- Care, support, and advocacy for people living with HIV and AIDS, orphans, and vulnerable children
- Awareness raising about sexual health among adolescents
The Network maintains a resource center in Blantyre, providing meeting space and email and Internet access to individuals and NGOs. It also works with the National AIDS Control Program and the Reproductive Health Unit of the Ministry of Health.
Nicaragua
NicaSalud was created as a direct response to USAID Nicaragua's special objective to reconstruct and sustain recovery in Hurricane Mitch-affected areas. Through NicaSalud, emphasis is placed on:
- Improving the health status of Hurricane Mitch-affected families;
- Increasing the quality and availability of health services through reconstruction and/or rehabilitation and prevention, and community education about infectious diseases;
- Creating an NGO network to deliver and expand access to quality health services in Hurricane Mitch-affected areas.
NicaSalud has been a successful mechanism to channel Hurricane Mitch funds to a large number of organizations and reach the more isolated communities within a short period. To that end, NicaSalud awarded 21 subgrants for project implementation in 652 communities, targeting approximately 500,000 people. Specific program interventions, coordinated through regional Ministry of Health groups, include:
- Conducting training courses in the integrated management of childhood illnesses for Ministry of Health staff, local NGOs, and community health workers;
- Establishing facility- and community-based rehydration units;
- Mobilizing communities through mother's clubs and adolescent peer groups.
All Hurricane Mitch-funded activities will be completed by December 2001. Thereafter, NicaSalud will continue to build PVO and NGO members' capacity and service delivery by integrating reproductive health, including family planning and safe motherhood strategies, into existing projects in child survival and other sectors. The PRIME project will provide technical assistance to select PVO Partners to strengthen safe motherhood and postpartum family planning services in the community.
This next phase of NicaSalud activities will be funded by USAID through an 18-month transition period proposal beginning in January 2002. It is also anticipated that with the initiation of this second phase, NicaSalud will become a locally registered NGO in Nicaragua and will be poised to leverage funds from several donors.
View the results of the Nicaragua baseline survey:
NicaSalud Baseline Survey Results for 8 Partner Organizations
Full text (pdf)
NicaSalud Baseline Survey Report for 12 Partner Non-Governmental Organizations Full text (pdf)
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