MCSP EPCMD Quarterly Report Quarter II - January 01 to March 31, 2016

The program began on July 1, 2014, and is set to end on September 30, 2017. The program is implemented by Jhpiego Corporation, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Cooperative Agreement Number AID-OAA-A-N-00028. The program's geographic coverage includes the cities of Ouanaminthe, St. Michel de L'Attalaye, Matheux, Mirebalais, Fond-De-Blancs, and Milot. The program's main objective is to improve maternal and child health outcomes by strengthening the health system, increasing access to quality healthcare services, and promoting healthy behaviors. During the second quarter of the program's second year (PY2), significant progress was made towards achieving the program's workplan objectives. Major activities included introducing transport and communication protocols to the Model Referral Network (MRN) facilities and healthcare providers, finalizing the clinical referral protocol, drafting the Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) guidelines, and developing WASH and Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) modules for the National Training Centers. The program also made progress in equipping health facilities and Agent de Santé Communautaire Polyvalent (ASCPs) in the MRNs to make referrals. MCSP EPCMD printed and disseminated visual mapping tools for the MRN facilities in St. Michel de L'Attalaye and Matheux, and conducted participatory discussions at the community level to ensure the transportation and communication protocols incorporate pre-existing structures. Additionally, the program introduced CEmONC services to the MRN community referral hospitals. MCSP EPCMD conducted a BEmONC training for 15 health providers in St. Michel, to ensure readiness and capacity to receive the CEmONC training planned for July. The health officials in Gonaives have confirmed their readiness to act as the Community Referral Hospital (CRH) in lieu of St. Michel de L'Attalaye. The program also worked on developing a national MDSR system. MCSP EPCMD worked as part of the national MDSR Steering Committee to disseminate the tools for collecting MDSR baseline information, and supported facilities and communities in the three MRNs by collecting data on causes of maternal deaths. The program's implementation status is as follows: Objective 1, which involves finalizing and piloting the tools and technical standards for the structure and operation of three model referral networks (MRNs), is on track. The clinical referral and counter referral protocols have been developed, and the transport and communication protocols have been finalized and validated. The program has also made progress in equipping health facilities and ASCPs in the MRNs to make referrals, and introducing CEmONC services to the MRN community referral hospitals. The program's budget for the first two years (PY1-PY2) is $10,000,000. The actual expenditures through December 31, 2015, were $7,500,000. The total expenditure for the second quarter (January-March, 2016) was $1,500,000. The estimated accrued expenditures for the second quarter were $1,500,000. The total estimated cumulative expenditures to date were $9,000,000. The workplan PY1-PY2 budget minus expenditures to date was $1,000,000.