Maternal and Child Survival Program Guatemala FY 2018 Q2 Quarterly Report

The program aimed to improve the provision of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH/N) services within the context of the primary health care model. The program was implemented in 30 prioritized municipalities of the Western Highlands of Guatemala, including Huehuetenango, Quiché, Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, and Totonicapán. The program's primary health care model was revised, adjusted, and implemented in the 30 prioritized municipalities. The model aimed to provide quality RMNCAH/N health services by the network of health facilities and workers. To achieve this, the program established and tested a national WASH in health care facilities program using its tested community-based approach in 11 priority facilities in four departments. The program also identified and prioritized gaps and barriers in the service delivery network in prioritized municipalities and designed and improved the model for quality of service delivery. The program strengthened linkages between the municipality and the community to improve community engagement in the co-management and monitoring of health and nutrition services and to create demand. This was achieved through support to the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (MOH) to develop linkages between health services and communities to create demand for quality services and to carry out social auditing processes based on information, taking into account the operational tactics of the PHC model. The program also promoted and supported governance of civil society and the community, strengthened response capacity and community resilience to disasters and health and nutrition emergencies, and developed a strategy for respectful care in RMNCAH/N. The program improved knowledge, competencies, and skills of health workers in the areas of RMNCH/N through the design of a strategy for continuous in-service learning and capacity building for health providers. The program organized and provided technical assistance to training centers in Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, and Quiché and local mentor teams on clinical capacities, continuous quality improvement, and mentorship in at least six DAS and six DMS. The program also supported clinical, mentoring, and peer-to-peer capacity building, including the use of dashboards and quality improvement approaches by mentor teams in the regional hospital of Quetzaltenango and in departmental hospitals, DAS, DMS, and CS –10, CAP, and CAIMI. The program increased visibility, collaboration, and multi-sector efforts in the prevention of chronic malnutrition in the Western Highlands. The National Strategy for Prevention of Stunting was implemented at the national level and in 13 prioritized municipalities. The program engaged civil society to improve nutrition service demand and monitoring, strengthened the service network in promotion, incorporation, and achievement of specific, critical actions to reduce malnutrition, and coordinated with municipalities, SESAN, and CONASAN for inter-sectoral coordination at the national and local levels. The program faced implementation challenges, including the need to strengthen the service network in promotion, incorporation, and achievement of specific, critical actions to reduce malnutrition. The program also identified the need to engage civil society to improve nutrition service demand and monitoring. Despite these challenges, the program made significant progress in improving the provision of RMNCAH/N services, strengthening linkages between the municipality and the community, and increasing visibility, collaboration, and multi-sector efforts in the prevention of chronic malnutrition in the Western Highlands.