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Latest News New malaria consortium project will expand access to iccm services across mid western uganda

New Malaria Consortium project will expand access to iCCM services across mid-western Uganda

16 March 2015

Malaria Consortium is pleased to announce that Comic Relief has awarded us a grant to run a new project in midwestern Uganda focusing on reducing deaths from pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria in children under five, as well as improving maternal and new-born care services in the region.

Despite progress in recent years, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria still account for the highest number of under-five deaths in Uganda. Each year, 66 out of every 1,000 children die before reaching age five. Maternal mortality is also high – worsened by the fact that the Midwest Region has the lowest antenatal care attendance rate in the country.

Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) brings healthcare closer to communities by training members of Village Health Teams (VHTs) to assess symptoms and treat illnesses. It also reduces the need for a patient to visit a health facility, making it easier for children to get the care they need when they are sick. Malaria Consortium’s substantial experience in supporting iCCM initiatives across Africa has proven that this is an effective approach in reducing mortality and morbidity in young children. In Uganda, we have implemented iCCM programmes before through various donors such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), UKaid, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This new project, titled iCCM+, will expand upon the successes and lessons learnt of previous iCCM programmes to reduce under-five deaths through a combination of routine iCCM and selected maternal and neonatal care interventions, deepening gains in malaria and childhood disease control in 14 districts*. The project will work with the Ministry of Health to:

  • Train VHTs to incorporate maternal and new-born care (MNC) into iCCM and to refer patients to health facilities when danger signs are present – ultimately leading to greater integration of iCCM with existing policies and systems.
  • Generate demand for services through the creation of village health clubs, which will build on previous behaviour change communication (BCC) activities from our Pioneer Project
  • Strengthen parasitological diagnosis of malaria by supplying rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) as well as finalise and disseminate malaria diagnosis guidelines, train and supervise public sector health workers on the use and management of RDTs, establish an external quality assurance system, and provide RDT buffer stocks.  
  • Integrate VHT data into the health management information system (HMIS) and improve community level data.
  • Improve MNC services at the health facility level, through training health workers on interpersonal communication and targeted support supervision. To reduce preterm neonatal deaths, one health facility per district will be equipped as a referral facility for care of premature babies.
  • Advocate for increased scale-up of iCCM services.

*Districts include: Hoima, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa, Kibaale, Mubende, Mityana, Kabarole, Luwero, Buliisa, Masindi, Kyankwanzi, Kiboga, Kiryandongo and Nakasongola.

Keywords: Digital strategies | Public health communications | Diagnosis | Treatment | Community delivery | Maternal, neonatal and child health

 

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