MCSP Madagascar Y2 Quarter 2 Report (Jan – Mar 2016)

The key achievements for quarter 2 (January-February-March 2016) of PY2 are presented below. Objective 1: Provide support and technical leadership in maternal and newborn health at the national level to the Ministry of Health. The program supported the dissemination and implementation of the CARMMA initiative - the Roadmap 2015-2019. An orientation to the Roadmap was conducted for health providers from 2 regions: Analamanga and Vakinankaratra. The program also participated in the updating of the 2016-2020 reproductive health integrated strategic plan (SPSR) and the 2016-2017 operational plan. Technical support was provided to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) technical working groups in developing misoprostol and CHX scale-up plans and a training curricula for misoprostol and chlorhexidine, and for RH at community level. The program also provided technical support to the MOH for the development of a Universal Health Coverage strategy. In addition, the program strengthened USAID/MCSP visibility and presence with the Direction Régionale de la Santé Publique in Atsinanana, Melaky and Sofia regions. In Atsinanana, the program introduced the innovative 'MNH Quality Dashboard' during a meeting with facility administrators, local EMAR and EMAD representatives and local partners. The launch was also attended by the Minister of Public Health. The dashboard allows providers, hospital administrators, quality improvement committees and other key stakeholders to track key quality of care indicators and use the evaluation of the results to monitor progress against key health goals. In Melaky and Sofia regions, official donations of key MNH basic equipment were organized for 2 CHRR and 2 CSB facilities, and the ceremonies were attended by the regional governors, town mayors, DRSP representatives, and the management team of hospitals. Objective 2: Increase access to and improve quality of maternal and newborn health services in USG priority regions. The program strengthened the existing pool of trainers by updating the technical skills of trainers in the regions of Alaotra Mangoro and Melaky. Training was conducted for 3 weeks, with an average of 20 participants per week. The training covered topics such as maternal and newborn health, family planning, and malaria in pregnancy. The program also conducted a training needs assessment in the regions of Analamanga and Vakinankaratra. Objective 3: Increase access to long-acting postpartum family planning methods in USG priority regions. The program provided technical support to the MOH for the development of a postpartum family planning (PPFP) component into the 2016-2020 reproductive health integrated strategic plan (SPSR) and the 2016-2017 operational plan. The program also supported the integration of a PPFP component into the training curricula for reproductive health at the community level. Objective 4: Improve prevention and treatment of malaria in pregnancy (MIP) in the context of focused antenatal care. The program provided technical support to the MOH for the development of a misoprostol and CHX scale-up plan. The plan will be used by MOH and implementing partners to implement misoprostol for the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage and CHX for the reduction of newborn sepsis, thereby decreasing maternal and newborn mortality. Objective 5: Strengthen the capacity of pre-service training institutions to educate midwives according to International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) standards and competencies. The program provided technical support to the MOH for the development of a training curricula for reproductive health at the community level, including family planning and immunization components. Training at this level can help save lives by reaching vulnerable women and children through community health workers in hard-to-reach areas.