Accelerated cooperation for child survival

Project activities - in immunization, primary health care (PHC), health education, and pilot efforts - will be implemented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) via Modular Organization Development (MOD) teams, to include USAID/Y, MOH, and contractor personnel. The project will provide TA and budgetary support to the YARG"s Summer 1987 Expanded Program of Immunizations (EPI) campaign and to subsequent EPI efforts. The EPI experience will be used by MOD teams as a basis for decentralized planning of governorate-level PHC activities, e.g., determining future PHC unit (PHCU) sites. PHC construction and training activities will aim at achieving the YARG goal of one PHCU for every 3,000 persons, each unit staffed by a PHC worker (PHCW) and female PHCW, and supported by health centers staffed by physicians and auxiliary health workers. Up to 100 PHCU"s and 12 training centers (TC"s) will be constructed. PHCW trainers/supervisors (T/S"s) will be recruited, each to receive 6 weeks formal training followed by 6 weeks orientation and on-the-job training. While Sudanese nurse midwives employed by WHO on an MCH project will serve as T/S"s for female PHCW"s, the project will fund advanced training for 6 potential replacements. PHCW"s will be trained in immunization, MCH, child spacing, health education, oral rehydration (OR), and preventative measures. Given expected difficulties in recruiting female PHCW"s, practical training may be provided to traditional birth attendants. The Ministry of Information (MOI) will be helped to develop mass media EPI messages through TA in: audience research; pretesting; production of four rounds of radio, TV, and poster messages (general motivation, followed by messages corresponding to the three-dose EPI plan); and post-testing. Experience from this activity will be used to help MOI and MOH design a mass media campaign for at least one other child survival activity (OR). In addition, to establish governorate-level health education capabilities, health educators will be recruited and trained for each TC, and equipment, materials, etc., provided. Finally, the project will promote innovation through a special fund for 5 pilot child survival projects (in, e.g., diarrhea control, health financing, data collection, child spacing, and institutional support).