HEALTH/NUTRITION SECTOR DEVELOPMENT

The Secretariat of State for Public Health and Social Assistance (SESPAS) will implement the project. Project is in conjunction with an A.I.D. health sector loan to improve SESPAS programs in public health; it augments the management component of that loan. To improve SESPAS" program planning and evaluation capabilities, long- and short-term training will be provided to 78 candidates from SESPAS" Planning Division, the Secretariat of Agriculture, and other indigenous institutions. A total of 12 persons will receive long-term training for academic degrees in the following areas: epidemiology of infectious or chronic diseases; maternal and child health care; data processing and computer programming; health economics; anthropology and sociology; and epidemiological research techniques. Another 66 participants will attend short-term courses to upgrade their planning and evaluation capabilities. Following completion of their training, the participants will be employed by SESPAS. The current Health Sector Assessment report will be revised, expanded, and updated to fill in existing information gaps and provide a basis for ongoing reappraisal. USAID consultants will assist SESPAS to collect and analyze reliable and accurate data, especially that which pertains to the causes and age distribution of infant deaths. The project will institutionalize a health sector research and analysis component in SESPAS. Research will be conducted into distribution and determinants of maternal mortality, venereal disease, arterial hypertension, and common parasitic disorders. The role and potential of traditional health personnel, such as midwives and folk healers, will be analysed for possible incorporation into the more formal health delivery system. At least one major research project will be completed during the project"s initial year, and at least two every year thereafter. The project will provide technical backstopping to Health Sector Loan activities.