1. Strengthening community to health facility care continuum in Nampula, Mozambique
This project is implemented by the Universidade Lurio in collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and the Nampula Provincial Ministry of Health in Mozambique.
Mozambique has made it a priority to address its high maternal death rate and its high adolescent pregnancy rate. Access to quality sexual and reproductive health information and services is limited, particularly in rural areas. Moreover, despite advances in improving maternal and child health, inequalities in access to life-saving health care during pregnancy and delivery continue to be pronounced in rural and northern areas of the country.
This project, also know as “Alert community to prepared hospital care continuum”, examines the acceptability, feasibility and sustainability of a range of system-centered strategies to improve maternal and newborn care in Marrere. These strategies include a focus on family planning and education for optimizing access to sexual and reproductive health services, particularly for adolescents. Strengthening health services is also a focus through trainings, including ‘Helping Babies Breathe’ and ‘Helping Babies Survive’, and improved capacity for continuous and quality caesarean delivery. Further, these interventions focus on support to women, men and families from a birth care team to promote safe deliveries and enhanced community-based transport and referral system for urgent care. Finally, interventions are developed to increase administrative capacity and mechanisms promoting greater accountability within the health system.