ACCESS efforts in Rwanda gain presidential attention
January 2009
First Lady Jeannette Kagame greets Jérémie Zoungrana, ACCESS Country Representative for Rwanda and WRA Board Member.
(Photo: Thomas Rippe)
In an effort to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity nationally, ACCESS/Rwanda is improving standards of performance in Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC), training providers in EmONC, training community health workers, developing community health messages, and implementing Kangaroo Mother Care to improve care for low birth weight babies. And thanks to its partnership with the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA), ACCESS work to improve maternal and newborn care is now receiving national-level attention.
Jérémie Zoungrana—acting as both ACCESS Country Representative and WRA board member based in Rwanda—provided ACCESS a unique opportunity to launch a new WRA Chapter in the country, and to act as an effective vehicle for advocacy to create political will for drastic changes that will give women and girls access to life-saving care. This fall, Rwanda's First Lady Jeannette Kagame was the keynote speaker at the official launch of a new WRA Chapter in Rwanda. The WRA, an international organization working to promote safe pregnancy in 110 countries and National Alliances, had not previously had a presence in the country.
Mothers practicing kangaroo mother care.
(Photo: John Healey/jhph.com)
During the launch, the First Lady praised the global attempts to reduce maternal deaths, but reminded attendees of the considerable obstacles for women and babies in developing countries such as Rwanda: "We are aware of the shocking statistics of maternal and infant mortality rates. That these deaths are brought about by preventable causes is a call for action to accelerate our combined efforts to reduce, if not end this."
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. The WRA and ACCESS are working together to combat these factors, making significant improvements in skilled birth attendance and postpartum newborn care and coverage, and increased use of immediate newborn care, improved quality of service delivery in EmONC, and increased demand for maternal and newborn services.
Baby in KMC position.
(Photo: John Healey/jhph.com)
"Not only do programs like ACCESS contribute to the WRA and Safe Motherhood directly, but also indirectly through the involvement of their staff at global and national levels," Mr. Zoungrana said. "My election to the WRA Board has been a great opportunity for the Program to be represented at the highest levels of decision making." ACCESS Director Koki Agarwal had also been a Board member for four years before leaving last year.
Now that ACCESS and Jhpiego—in collaboration with the
Ministry of Health and its partners—have helped to establish the WRA Chapter in Rwanda, they will continue to support the development of a national structure to coordinate activities at the country level.
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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