Niger family health and demography : volume I

Activities in these two areas will be implemented, respectively, by the Ministries of Public Health and Social Affairs (MOPH/SA) and Plan (MOP). Led by the MOPH/SA Directorate for Family Planning (DFP), the project will extend FH services (family planning, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and monitoring of high-risk pregnancies) to an additional 112 public health facilities outside Niamey. Activities will be in 6 areas. (1) DFP will organize two conferences to elicit the support of key constituencies -- especially those which traditionally mobilize mass participation -- for population activities. (2) A national team will be trained to provide in-service training to MOPH/SA program and regional managers and health workers (physicians, nurses, midwives, social workers, and pharmacists), as well as pre-service training to the latter. (3) Information, education, and communication (IEC) efforts will include audience research, a mass media campaign, individual and group counseling, and community activities; the project will acquire a variety of IEC materials and provide training to an IEC coordinator, 80 social workers, and other involved personnel. (4) To improve contraceptive supply and logistics management, the project will procure orals, condoms, and IUD"s, as well as two trucks and other equipment, and will provide TA in product flow and management information systems. (5) TA will be provided in program planning, service provider regulations, personnel and financial management, problemsolving, and monitoring and evaluation. (6) Two private sector/mixed approaches to FH will be tested: contraceptive distribution by village health teams and by public and private pharmacies. The MOP Directorate for Statistics and Computer Services (DSI) will expand the demographic data base and its own capacity to undertake demographic research and analysis. This component will provide TA for processing and analyzing 1988 census data, conduct a national demographic and health sample survey, provide long- and short-term training in demography, and help establish demographic documentation and dissemination centers. Amendment of 8/28/91 increases funding by $500,000 to procure more contraceptives, and specifically to fulfill USAID/N"s pledge to supply condoms for the GON"s AIDS prevention program. (PD-ABD-345) Amendment of 5/14/92 increases funding by $10 million, extends the PACD 2 years to 7/31/95, and modifies the FH component in light of the midterm evaluation. Revisions include: (1) expanding family planning (FP) services to 260 additional public health facilities; (2) developing a contraceptive social marketing program; (3) conducting operations research and systems development to improve integration of FP and maternal/child health (MCH) services; and (4) increasing involvement of three U.S. PVO"s -- CARE, Africare, and Helen Keller International -- in community-level FP/MCH services. (PD-ABE-386)