ACCESS donation to improve safe motherhood in Rwanda
08 October 2008
A 40-foot container packed with donated medical supplies and equipment—including several hundred kits to assist with safe delivery—was shipped by the ACCESS Program and its contents delivered to health facilities in Rwanda. The donation was a collaborative effort by Program partners Jhpiego and IMA World Health, as well as Twubakane and the Rwandan Ministry of Health (MOH).
Part of a larger ACCESS effort to help the Rwandan MOH improve and expand key maternal and newborn health interventions, the donated materials will strengthen ACCESS-supported facilities across the country. ACCESS is participating in USAID's Safe Birth Africa Initiative in Rwanda to demonstrate large-scale sustainable results in increasing the accessibility and utilization of safe delivery services. The initiative, which began in November 2006, aims to increase the access to skilled birth attendants and reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in four districts, and nationally.
More than half of Rwandans live on less than $1 per day, and most have very limited access to basic health care. Many women, especially in the rural areas, still do not have access to a skilled birth attendant. And where there is a skilled attendant, may facilities lack the necessary equipment to save the lives of mothers and babies. The Government of Rwanda has adopted a primary health care approach for its health care system, and has allocated additional funds from the national budget. Still, more than 70% of funds for health-related work come from outside donors.
With in-country partners, ACCESS developed a strategic approach and conducted a baseline facility assessment of maternal and newborn health services in four target districts. ACCESS also collaborated with the MOH to launch a Kangaroo Mother Care Center of excellence at Muhima Hospital to care for low birth weight newborns. To mobilize religious leaders to advocate for Safe Motherhood, ACCESS is involving faith-based organizations in community-level activities to foster behavior change among providers and women delivering at health facilities.
The MOH in Rwanda is committed to improving services for women and babies; its goal is to encourage all pregnant women to deliver at a facility attended by a skilled birth attendant. The maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity statistics in Rwanda are among the worst in Africa. Approximately 43% of the deaths of children less than one year of age occur during the neonatal period, and less than 14% of women give birth with a trained provider.
At the end of the project, ACCESS expects to achieve significant improvement in skilled birth attendance, postpartum newborn care, and quality of service delivery in emergency obstetric and newborn care. Moreover, Program activities will generate increased use of maternal and newborn care services.
About ACCESS
The ACCESS Program is the U.S. Agency for International Development’s
global program to improve maternal and newborn health. The ACCESS Program works to expand
coverage, access and use of key maternal and newborn health services across a continuum
of care from the household to the hospital—with the aim of making quality health services
accessible for women and newborns.
Jhpiego implements the program in partnership with Save the
Children, Constella Futures, the Academy for Educational Development, the American
College of Nurse-Midwives and IMA World Health.
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